November SME Business Outlook Falls 1.8 Points to 81.5

Manufacturing down 1.6 points; non-manufacturing down 1.9 points

The business outlook for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in November fell from the previous month as conditions worsened in both manufacturing and services. It has declined for two consecutive months.

A view of the Korea Federation of SMEs. Korea Federation of SMEs

According to the November SME Business Outlook Survey released by the Korea Federation of SMEs on October 29, the Business Survey Index (SBHI) for November stood at 81.5, down 1.8 points from the previous month. The survey was conducted from October 14 to 20 among 3,076 SMEs.

The Business Survey Index measures SMEs' perceptions of future business conditions. A reading above 100 means positive outlooks outnumber negative ones, while a reading below 100 means negative outlooks are more common.

By sector, the index for manufacturing fell 1.6 points to 85.7, while that for non-manufacturing declined 1.9 points to 79.5. Among non-manufacturing industries, construction fell 0.5 points to 69.3, and services fell 2.1 points to 81.6.

In manufacturing, outlooks improved from the previous month in nine industries, including printing and reproduction of recorded media (up 16.3 points) and apparel, apparel accessories and fur products (up 8.3 points). They declined in 14 industries, including medicinal substances and pharmaceuticals (down 10.7 points) and repair of industrial machinery and equipment (down 9.7 points).

In services, outlooks improved in five industries, including professional, scientific and technical services (up 3.5 points) and repair and other personal services (up 2.7 points). They declined in five industries, including arts, sports and recreation-related services (down 17.7 points) and accommodation and food services (down 4.9 points).

In the outlook for all industries by category, exports (92.0 to 86.5), operating profit (80.5 to 78.8) and domestic sales (82.7 to 81.5) all worsened from the previous month. Financing conditions (80.9) were forecast to remain broadly unchanged.

In October, the most commonly cited business difficulty among SMEs was "sluggish sales (product sales)," at 51.5%. This was followed by "rising raw material prices" (37.3%), "intensifying competition among companies" (30.3%) and "rising labor costs" (28.8%).

The average operating rate of small and medium-sized manufacturers in September was 75.4%, up 0.8 percentage points from the previous month.

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