A $4\%$ commission means that if a broker sells $\$100,000$ of whatever it is that they sell, the broker gets $\$4000.$
The $\$100,000$ is the "amount of business" the broker did and the $\$4000$ is the broker's income.
A slump in business would mean that in a certain month (or year or some other defined period of time) the broker sells less stuff than in some previous month (or year or whatever period of time we're comparing).
So, if the broker made $\$4000$ income during a period of time when their commission was $5\%$, how much did the broker sell during that period of time?