SMEs' Economic Outlook "Declines Again in Just One Month"

[Financial News] The economic outlook for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) has declined again in just one month.
According to the 'August 2025 SME Economic Outlook Survey' announced by the Korea Federation of SMEs on the 30th, the August economic outlook index (SBHI) is 74.6, down 2.0 points (p) from the previous month. It had rebounded by 1.6p in July compared to the previous month, but has declined again.
This is attributed to sluggish exports and domestic demand. In the outlook by category, △Exports (87.1→78.2) △Domestic Sales (74.7→72.8) △Financial Conditions (76.3→74.4) △Operating Profit (73.4→72.2) all decreased compared to the previous month. The countercyclical trend of Employment (96.5→98.5) is also expected to worsen.
In the outlook by industry, both manufacturing and non-manufacturing sectors declined. Manufacturing decreased by 2.2p to 76.7 compared to the previous month. Among them, △Metal Processed Products (73.5→82.6) △Electronic Components, Computers, Video, Audio and Communication Equipment (80.2→83.9) led the increase in 5 sectors compared to the previous month. On the other hand, △Beverages (91.5→76.4) △Rubber and Plastic Products (83.7→74.5) among 18 sectors declined. Non-manufacturing fell by 2.0p to 73.7 compared to the previous month. Both Construction (71.5→69.5) and Service (76.5→74.5) sectors declined.
The biggest management difficulty for SMEs was 'sluggish sales', accounting for 61.3%. This was followed by △Rising Labor Costs (35.2%) △Rising Raw Material Prices (25.9%) △Intensified Competition Among Companies (25.1%).
In June, the average operating rate of small and medium-sized manufacturers was 70.9%, down 0.1%p from the previous month. By company size, small companies (67.1%→67.9%) rose by 0.8%p compared to the previous month. Medium-sized companies (75.4%→74.3%) fell by 1.1%p.

kaya@fnnews.com Choi Hye-rim Reporter