Subject	All industries	Mining & manufacturing	Service	Retail sales	Equipment investment	Construction completed
Monthly Change (%)	1.6	5.1	0.2	0.4	∆2.2	∆3.3

In March 2023, production in mining and manufacturing industries rose by 5.1 percent month-on-month, driven by 35.1 percent and 6.5 percent increases in semiconductors and automobiles, respectively, despite a 31.5 percent decline in the production of communications and broadcasting equipment. Service industry production inched upward by 0.2 percent month-on-month as real estate and financial insurance increased by 3.1 percent and 1.8 percent, respectively. Retail sales increased by 0.4 percent from the previous month as sales of durable and nondurable goods improved by 0.4 percent and 0.7 percent, respectively, despite a 1.1 percent decline in sales of semi-durable goods. Equipment investment fell by 2.2 percent month-on-month as investment in machinery such as special industrial machinery increased by 0.5 percent, but investment in transportation equipment such as ships declined by 9.7 percent. Construction investment declined by 3.3 percent from the previous months as engineering projects gained by 12.2 percent supported by increased execution of SOC budgets, but construction projects fell by 7.6 percent due to delays in material supply. The cyclical change in the coincident index increased by 0.6 percentage points, while the cyclical change in the leading index decreased by 0.3 percentage points affected by growing inventories and falling domestic shipments of machinery. As the real economy continues to deteriorate since the second half of 2022, there are a mix of upside and downside risks to the economy going forward. On the production side, there are positive factors, such as expectations over the effect of China’s reopening and gradual improvements in service sector production. At the same time, burdens exist including a possible weakening of the global recovery, slow exports of the nation’s key items such as semiconductors, and a slowdown in IT. In the case of consumption and investment, there are positive factors such as the implementation of the amendment to the Act on Restriction of Special Taxation, measures to boost domestic consumption, slowing inflation, and improving consumer and business sentiment. However, there are risk factors such as short-term investment adjustments caused by semiconductor production cuts, uncertainties in the construction industry, and household debt burdens.