S. Korea’s number of businesses grows in 2023

SEOUL, Sept. 27 (Xinhua) — South Korea’s number of businesses grew last year due to an increase in the wholesale and retail and transport sectors, statistical office data showed Friday.
The combined number of businesses was 6,238,580 at the end of 2023, up 1.6 percent from a year earlier, according to Statistics Korea.
The number of manufacturers tumbled 9.2 percent last year, but those for transportation businesses and wholesalers and retailers expanded in single digits amid the growing online shopping market.
The wholesale and retail industry posted the highest number of businesses with 1,572,296, followed by the lodging and eatery sector with 861,863 and the transportation sector with 668,999.
The number of workers, employed by local businesses, went up 0.4 percent from a year earlier to 25,321,526 at the end of 2023.
The manufacturing industry hired the highest number of 4,216,018 employees, followed by the wholesale and retail sector with 3,542,875 and the healthcare and social welfare sector with 2,539,015.
The number of employees in the manufacturing and the construction industries reduced 0.9 percent and 1.8 percent each, but those in the healthcare and social welfare and the lodging and eatery sectors gained 3.3 percent and 3.5 percent respectively. ■