DIHK concerned about further decline in the number of self-employed in Germany
The German Chamber of Industry and Commerce (DIHK) sees the renewed decline in the number of self-employed people in 2023 as a cause for concern. "The negative trend in start-ups is a serious challenge for our economy," Deputy DIHK Managing Director Achim Dercks told the Reuters news agency on Tuesday. "We are losing economic potential as a result."
Entrepreneurial creativity is important in order to overcome challenges such as the transformation to a sustainable economy. The Federal Statistical Office had previously announced that the downward trend among the self-employed, which has now been ongoing for twelve years, had continued in 2023: Their number, including assisting family members, fell by 30,000 or 0.8 percent to 3.9 million.
"Traditional sectors such as retail, services and the hospitality industry in particular are reporting too few people interested in business succession," said Dercks. However, interest is also waning significantly in future-oriented sectors such as information and communication technologies or business-related services. This is reported by the business start-up advisors at the regional chambers of industry and commerce (IHKs). "Part of the decline can be explained by the ageing of the population," said the DIHK expert. "There are fewer people in the particularly entrepreneurial age groups between 20 and 40."
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The independent entrepreneurs in these declining sectors could potentially benefit from government incentives to promote business ownership. Despite the independent efforts of IHKs to cultivate interest in entrepreneurship, the pay for self-employment is not seen as attractive enough to attract a younger generation.
Source: www.ntv.de
