Small and medium-sized enterprises reported a negative outlook for June.
The Korea Federation of Small and Medium Enterprises conducted the '2025 June Small and Medium Enterprises Business Outlook Survey' from June 13 to 19 among 3,071 small and medium-sized enterprises, resulting in a June Business Outlook Index (SBHI) of 75, a decrease of 0.7 points from the previous month. Compared to June of last year, it fell by 4.4 points.
The Business Outlook Index for small and medium-sized enterprises quantifies the economic perception and business outlook through survey responses from small and medium-sized enterprises. A score above 100 indicates that small and medium-sized enterprises view the economy positively, while a score below 100 indicates a negative outlook.
The manufacturing sector's outlook for June is 79.8, down 1 point from the previous month (80.8), while the non-manufacturing sector is at 73, down 0.4 points from the previous month (73.4).
By sector, in manufacturing, ▲medical, precision, optical equipment, and watches (74.3→84.4, up 10.1 points) ▲beverages (92.1→98.7, up 6.6 points) among others, eight sectors increased compared to the previous month, whereas ▲others (80.6→72.2, down 8.4 points) ▲electronic components, computers, video, audio, and communication equipment (86.8→80.7, down 6.1 points) among 15 sectors decreased.
In the non-manufacturing sector, construction (73.1→66.2) fell by 6.9 points compared to the previous month, while the service sector (73.5→74.4) rose by 0.9 points. In the service sector, ▲accommodation and food services (76.9→82.0, up 5.1 points) ▲transportation (74.6→79.6, up 5.0 points) among seven sectors increased, while ▲arts, sports, and leisure services (92.6→86.3, down 6.3 points) ▲business facility management, business support and rental services (86.1→82.0, down 4.1 points) among three sectors decreased.
By item, ▲financial conditions (75.1→74.9) decreased compared to the previous month, while ▲exports (81.6→86.1) ▲domestic sales (74.3→74.9) ▲operating profit (71.9→72.6) increased compared to the previous month. The employment level, which shows a reverse trend (96.0→96.3), is projected to worsen compared to the previous month.
In May, the main challenges for small and medium-sized enterprises were 'poor sales (product sales)' (61.9%), followed by ▲rising labor costs (34.4%) ▲rising materials and supplies prices (29.3%) ▲intensifying competition among corporations (26.9%).
The average operating rate for small manufacturing enterprises in April 2025 was 70.7%, a decrease of 0.1 percentage points from the previous month. By size, small corporations (67.3%→67.0%) decreased by 0.3 percentage points from the previous month, while medium corporations (74.6%→74.8%) increased by 0.2 percentage points.