South Korean smaller companies' business outlook inched up for September but still remains below par amid a weak economy, a poll showed Wednesday.
The survey of 3,055 small and midsized enterprises (SMEs) said the small business health index (SBHI) came to 83.7 for next month, up 4 points from August.
It marks the first time in three months that the index has recovered to the 80-point range.
A reading below 100 indicates pessimists outnumber optimists. The survey was taken by the Korea Federation of SMEs from Aug. 16-23.
The below-par reading comes amid the country's sluggish economy due to sinking exports and flaccid consumer spending.
South Korea's exports alone dipped 16.5 percent on-year to US$50.33 billion in July due mainly to weak overseas demand for semiconductors, posting the 10th consecutive month of decline.
According to the findings, the SBHI for the manufacturing sector came to 87.1 for September, up 6.5 points from the prior month, with that for nonmanufacturing companies rising by 2.9 points to 82.2.
Some 60 percent of the respondents cited sluggish domestic demand as the biggest hurdle to their management, followed by high labor costs with 47.4 percent, cutthroat competition with 32.8 percent and rising raw material costs with 32.5 percent.
The average capacity utilization rate of manufacturing SMEs came to 72.1 percent in July, down 0.3 percentage point from the previous month and 0.1 percentage point from a year earlier, according to the survey.
Source: Yonhap News Agency