Mid-sized Companies' Q2 Economic Outlook Negative... Down 11.6 Points Compared to Previous Year

Korea Federation of Mid-sized Enterprises Announces Results of the "2025 Q2 Mid-sized Enterprises Economic Outlook Survey"

The economic outlook for mid-sized companies in the second quarter of this year slightly improved compared to the previous quarter, but negative perceptions remain serious. Compared to the same period last year, it has dropped by 11.6 points.

The Korea Federation of Mid-sized Enterprises announced on the 31st in the '2025 Q2 Mid-sized Enterprises Economic Outlook Survey' that the economic outlook index for the second quarter recorded 80.7, a slight increase of 0.4 points from the first quarter. This survey was conducted from February 17 to 28 targeting 800 mid-sized companies. If the outlook index exceeds 100, it means more companies expect the next quarter to be better than the previous one; if below 100, the opposite is true.

The manufacturing sector's economic outlook index rose by 1.4 points from the previous quarter to 82.6. Except for some industries such as primary metals (66.3, up 4.6 points), most sectors showed an overall decline, including food and beverages (64.1, down 19.4 points), and automobiles and trailers (76.8, down 7.9 points).

The non-manufacturing sector's economic outlook index was 78.8, down 0.7 points from the previous quarter (79.5). The transportation sector (78.0, down 11.2 points) experienced the largest decline, followed by real estate (63.7, down 7.2 points), and publishing, telecommunications, and information services (78.8, down 4.3 points).

The export outlook index rose by 3.1 points from the previous quarter (94.1) to 97.2 due to factors such as exchange rate increases, but it still remained below the positive outlook threshold. Major real economy indicators such as domestic demand, production, operating profit, and financial conditions all declined compared to the previous quarter.

Lee Ho-jun, Executive Vice Chairman of the Korea Federation of Mid-sized Enterprises, stated, "Considering the high economic contribution of mid-sized companies, the continued negative economic outlook in the mid-sized enterprise sector must be taken seriously." He added, "To quickly restore vitality in both exports and domestic demand amid rapid economic changes, the government, National Assembly, and all sectors must pool wisdom to resolve chronic management difficulties faced by mid-sized companies, such as sluggish domestic demand, rising labor costs, excessive competition among companies, rising raw material prices, and exchange rate fluctuations."

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