Self-employed people take hit from economic slump

The number of self-employed people shutting down their business last year jumped to a four-year high, suggesting that owners of mom-and-pop stores bore the brunt of the slowing economic growth, data showed Thursday.

According to the data by the National Tax Service, business closures by self-employed people totaled 829,669 last year, up 3 percent or about 24,000 from a year earlier. It marked the largest number since 2007 when the figure was 848,000.

By sector, the service sector including hair salons and private education institutions accounted for the largest share by filing 179,834 business closures, followed by neighborhood retail stores with 177,039 and restaurants with 176,607, the data showed.

The data indicated that the slowing economic growth took its toll on smaller business owners mostly depending on consumption in their neighborhood.

Of the total, residents in the Gyeonggi Province that surrounds Seoul made up the largest 24 percent last year with 199,112 people closing their businesses. Those in Seoul and Busan came next with 176,045 and 55,984, respectively, the data showed. (Yonhap News)