According to Colombian laws, a microbusiness is an economic unit that employs a maximum of 9 people. These develop an activity that produces goods or services, with the aim of obtaining an income.
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It is worth noting that this is one of the sectors that had been showing constant growth, but in the third quarter of this year the National Administrative Department of Statistics (Dane) reported that it presented a 2% drop compared with the same period of the year 2023.
Likewise, the personnel employed by these economic units decreased 1.1% and the income of microbusinesses decreased 5.2% in this same time interval.
According to Dane, this indicator has been studied since 2015 and the information is provided quarterly. This drop in the indicator had not been reported since the third quarter of 2021 when it reached –2.1%.
After that date, that is, in the fourth quarter of that year, the decrease was greater than –5.4%, but between January and March 2022 it reached –0.4% and from April – June it was once again in positive territory, standing at 4.3%.
It is worth mentioning that during half of 2022 and all of 2023, microbusinesses in Colombia showed significant growth and reached figures close to 16%, but since the second quarter of this year they fell again at –1.3% and now at –2%.
What happened to microbusinesses for economic activities?
In the Dane report, the breakdown of microbusinesses according to their economic activity was revealed. Thus, the entity highlighted that these economic units in the primary sector, that is, agriculture, livestock, hunting, forestry, fishing and mining were the ones that marked the fall of the indicator; for the July period September recorded –23.2%.
It was followed by trade and repair of motor vehicles and motorcycles with –5.3%, transportation and storage (-6.1%), other service activities (-2.2%), manufacturing industry (-1.2%) and construction (-0.3%).
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On the other hand, of the eight economic activities measured by the indicator, only two grew in the third quarter. Among these are: real estate, professional and communications activities with 12.5% and accommodation and food services with 2.1%.
“The economic activities that had the greatest negative contribution to the total variation in the number of microbusinesses in the third quarter of 2024 were Trade and repair of motor vehicles and motorcycles (-1.6 pp); Transportation and storage (-1.0 pp) and Other service activities (-0.4 pp). On the contrary, Real estate, professional and communications activities (1.2 pp) and Accommodation and food services (0.2 pp) contributed positively to the total variation in the number of microbusinesses”, highlighted the document.
With this same behavior, the ratio of personnel employed in microbusinesses was maintained, the drop of 1.1% in the 24 main cities studied by the statistical entity was marked mainly by agriculture, livestock, hunting, forestry, fishing and mining with negative figures of –15.5%.
It was followed by transportation and storage with –6.7%, trade and repair of motor vehicles with –5.6%, other service activities with –2.5%.
On the other hand, among the economic sectors that grew the most between July and September of this year are: real estate, professional and communications activities with 8.8%; accommodation and food services (6.3%), manufacturing industry (3.3%) and construction (3%).
Microbusiness
Hernando Herrera. THE TIME
How did nominal income behave?
Another segment that this microbusiness survey measures has to do with the nominal income of these economic entities. Of the three components that make up this indicator, this was the one that presented the largest drop in the third quarter of this year, registering –5.2%.
The decline was mainly driven by secondary activities such as manufacturing industries, which recorded –55.4% in income, followed by agriculture, livestock, hunting, forestry, fishing and mining, which reported –15.7%; trade and repair of motor vehicles and motorcycles with –7.6% and transportation and storage with –2.8%.
On the contrary, the activities that presented the greatest increases were: real estate, professionals and communications with 55.2%, construction (33.4%), accommodation and food services (32.6%) and other service activities ( 31.5%).
In the third quarter of this year in Colombia, 2.1 million were registered on their own account and in the case of microbusinesses employers were registered 0.2 million.
LEIDY RUIZ
Portfolio Journalist
