The number of self-employed workers has decreased slightly compared to last year.
And among the economically inactive population, the number of those that do not wish to work at all was the highest on record.
Our Hong Yoo reports.
The self-employed population for the month of August was 6-point-79 million, a drop of 0-point-9 percent compared to the same period last year.
The number of self-employed workers in wholesale and retail fell by 55-thousand, and personal service and telecommunication businesses saw a drop of 30-thousand.
By age, the number of self-employed people in their forties fell by more than 130-thousand on the back of a sluggish performance by the manufacturing and wholesale and retail sectors.
The number of self-employed people in their fifties also saw a large drop due to the closure of self-employed businesses.
Statistics Korea says that the economic downturn has dampened consumer sentiment which has led to the closure of self-employed businesses that were already struggling.
The proportion of self-employed people who employ workers dropped by 7 percent on-year.
The economically inactive population, which includes homemakers, students and those who can't or won't work, grew by one percent from last year to more than 16-million.
And the number of those who are taking a break from working hit a record high of 2-point-1 million.
The agency says this is due to a change of people's perspective about not working, with people giving themselves time for self-development to prepare for the next step in their lives.
Hong Yoo, Arirang News.