(Yicai) Sept. 10 -- China’s Small and Medium Enterprise Development Index slipped 0.1 point in August from July, as the country’s small businesses remain under pressure amid an economic slowdown.

The SMEDI stood at 88.8 in August, remaining below the benchmark of 100 which indicates a lack of vitality, according to data released by the China Association of Small and Medium Enterprises today.

Small and medium-sized enterprises are still facing a number of challenges, such as weak demand and an uncertain external environment, the association said. More measures are needed to spur consumption, boost investment and implement further reforms.

Seven of the eight areas surveyed fell, according to the survey which polls the views of 3,000 SMEs across eight main sectors on the state of their industry, production situation and business conditions.

The macro-economic sentiment sub-index, the market sub-index and the profitability sub-index, which had been climbing, all slipped into decline. The macro-economic sentiment sub-index slumped 0.1 point from July, the market sub-index slid 0.2 point and the profitability sub-index tumbled 0.1 point.

The overall business sub-index and the investment sub-index also took a turn for the worse, shifting from unchanging to drops of 0.1 and 0.2 points respectively. While the cost and the capital sub-indexes continued their downward trajectory, each sliding 0.1 point.

Only the labor sub-index improved, rising by 0.2 point and ending its previous decline.

Editor: Kim Taylor