Small business economic outlook index turns downward for the first time in three months... The majority of management difficulties are due to ‘slow sales’

Investigation by the Korea Federation of SMEs and Startups... The majority of management difficulties are due to ‘slow sales’

(Seoul = Yonhap News) Reporter Lee Sang-seo = The economic outlook index for small and medium-sized businesses turned downward for the first time in three months due to the sluggish performance of the service industry.

According to the 'October Small Business Outlook Survey' announced by the Korea Federation of Small and Medium Businesses on the 29th, the business outlook index (SBHI) for next month was 83.3, down 1.5 points (p) from the previous month.

The economic outlook index is an index of small and medium-sized businesses' perception of the future economy. A score above 100 indicates a more positive outlook, and a score below 100 indicates the opposite.

The economic outlook index rose for two consecutive months from 78.2 in July to 80.0 in August and 84.8 in September, but turned downward after three months.

By industry, the manufacturing industry rose 0.2 points to 87.3, and the non-manufacturing industry decreased 2.3 points to 81.4.

In the manufacturing industry, 9 industries rose, mainly furniture and industrial machinery and equipment repair, but 14 industries, including beverages and printing and recording media reproduction, fell.

In the non-manufacturing industry, the construction industry rose 4.1 points from 65.7 to 69.8, and the service industry fell 3.6 points from 87.3 to 83.7.

In the case of the service industry, four industries, including transportation and arts, sports, and leisure-related services, rose, and six industries, including education services and wholesale and retail, decreased.

In addition, this month (September), the highest difficulty factor in managing small and medium-sized businesses was 'slow sales (product sales)' at 54.7% (multiple responses), followed by 'increasing raw material prices' (38.8%), 'intensifying competition between companies' (33.5%), and 'increasing labor costs' (28.2%).

Last month, the average operation rate of small and medium-sized manufacturers was 74.6%, down 0.6 percentage points from the previous month.

This survey was conducted on 3,073 small and medium-sized businesses from the 10th to the 16th.