September Small Business Business Outlook Index 83.7... Up 4.0p from Previous Month

Survey of 3,055 Small and Medium Enterprises from the 16th to the 23rd

The Small and Medium Business Outlook Index (SBHI) for next month rose by 4.0 points from the previous month to 83.7.

Photo by Korea Federation of SMEs

The Korea Federation of SMEs announced the results of the "September 2023 Small and Medium Business Outlook Survey," conducted from the 16th to the 23rd with 3,055 small and medium enterprises, on the 30th.

The business outlook index for September (83.7) recovered to the 80s for the first time in two months since June (81.1). It also increased by 0.5 points compared to the same month last year.

When divided into manufacturing and non-manufacturing sectors, the manufacturing business outlook for September rose by 6.5 points from the previous month to 87.1, while the non-manufacturing sector increased by 2.9 points to 82.2.

By industry, in manufacturing, 18 sectors including medical substances and pharmaceuticals, automobiles and trailers, and printing and recorded media reproduction showed an increase compared to the previous month, whereas five sectors such as furniture, electronic components, computers, video, audio, and communication equipment declined.

In the non-manufacturing sector, construction (82.6) fell by 5.6 points from the previous month, but the service industry (82.1) rose by 4.7 points.

Looking at the outlook by category, domestic sales (78.7→81.9), exports (76.6→84.9), operating profit (76.7→79.0), and financial conditions (78.4→78.6) all increased compared to the previous month. Employment level (95.1→93.7), which is a reverse trend indicator, is expected to improve compared to the previous month.

Compared to the average SBHI for the same month over the past three years, both manufacturing and non-manufacturing sectors are expected to improve in all categories compared to the previous three-year average.

The biggest management difficulty for SMEs in August was sluggish domestic demand (60.2%). This was followed by rising labor costs (47.4%), excessive competition among companies (32.8%), and rising raw material prices (32.5%).

The average operating rate of small and medium manufacturing enterprises in July was 72.1%, down 0.3 percentage points from the previous month and 0.1 percentage points from the same month last year. By company size, small enterprises (68.5%) remained flat compared to the previous month, but medium enterprises declined by 0.6 percentage points.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.