Subject	All industries	Mining & manufacturing	Service	Retail sales	Equipment investment	Construction completed
Monthly Change (%)	∆1.4	∆1.2	∆0.3	∆2.3	0.9	1.2

In April, production in the mining and manufacturing industries decreased by 1.2 percent from the previous month, led by declines of 8.0 percent and 6.9 percent in pharmaceuticals and machinery, respectively, against a 13.4 percent increase in communications and broadcasting equipment. Service industry production fell by 0.3 percent with finance up by 2.0 percent and wholesale and retail sales and real estate down by 3.1 percent and 1.9 percent, respectively. Retail sales saw a decrease of 2.3 percent month-on-month, with the sales of durable goods, semi-durable goods, and non-durable goods falling by 1.7 percent, 6.3 percent, and 1.2 percent, respectively. Equipment investment rose by 0.9 percent, led by a 5.9 percent surge in transportation equipment such as aircraft. Construction investment grew by 1.2 percent from the previous month, driven by a 2.4 percent increase in construction projects including a progress in the construction of a semiconductor factory. The cyclical change in the coincident index rose by 0.2 percentage points supported by increases in the production index for mining and manufacturing and service industries and the retail sales index. The cyclical change in the leading index saw a decrease of 0.2 percentage points due to a decline in the inventory cycle index and construction orders. As the real economy continues to worsen since the second half of 2022, upside and downside factors coexist for the economy moving forward. On the production side, there are positive factors such as the rebound of the IT industry in the second half, expectations over the resumption of China’s economic activities, and the normalization of face-to-face activities. At the same time, the economy may be burdened by factors such as continued global economic uncertainties and high levels of semiconductor inventory. 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, declines in construction projects and reduced new orders caused by uncertainties in the construction industry, and household debt burdens.