There has been a sharp decline in self-employment businesses since the late 1990s. In 1999, the number of self-employment businesses in the urban areas stood at 31.6 million, but in 2004, it had declined dramatically to 23.5 million, all during a period of a seemingly urban boom. The reason was the rising and exorbitant fees levied on such self-employment businesses. The situation improved slightly in 2006. As of June 2006, the number of urban self-employment businesses was 25.1 million.4
