SMEs' April Business Outlook at 75.7... Up 1 Point from March

Korea Federation of SMEs Releases Economic Outlook Survey
Down 5.3 Points Compared to April 2023
Employment Expected to Worsen Among Key Indicators

Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) expect the economic conditions in April to be somewhat better than in March. However, they are worse compared to the same period last year.

The Korea Federation of SMEs announced on the 30th the results of the 'April 2025 SME Economic Outlook Survey,' conducted from the 13th to the 19th among 3,070 SMEs.

Korea Federation of Small and Medium Business. Provided by Korea Federation of Small and Medium Business

The Small Business Health Index (SBHI) for April business outlook was 75.7, up 1.0 point from the previous month, but down 5.3 points compared to the same month last year (81.0).

The manufacturing sector's economic outlook for April rose 1.9 points from the previous month to 82.6, while the non-manufacturing sector increased by 0.6 points to 72.7. Construction (72.5) rose 6.7 points from the previous month, whereas the service sector (72.7) declined by 0.8 points during the same period.

Within manufacturing, 17 industries, led by beverages (86.2→93.6) and fabricated metal products (76.6→83.8), showed an increase compared to March, but six industries, including furniture (72.1→64.7) and printing and recorded media reproduction (85.3→80.6), declined during the same period.

In non-manufacturing, construction (65.8→72.5) increased by 6.7 points from the previous month, while the service sector (73.5→72.7) decreased by 0.8 points.

Within the service sector, all seven industries, including arts, sports, and leisure-related services (83.4→93.8) and accommodation and food services (76.2→79.7), rose compared to the previous month, but three industries, such as publishing, video, broadcasting, telecommunications, and information services (89.1→85.6) and wholesale and retail trade (69.8→68.1), declined from the previous month.

Exports (87.7→95.6), operating profits (71.1→73.4), financial conditions (73.3→74.9), and domestic sales (74.4→75.8) are all expected to improve compared to March, but employment (95.4→96.2), which is a counter-trend indicator, is expected to worsen.

Meanwhile, the biggest management difficulty faced by SMEs this month was 'poor sales (product sales)' (60.3%), followed by rising labor costs (35.6%), rising raw material prices (30.9%), and intensified competition among companies (28.0%).

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