Compared with December 2016, seasonally adjusted production in the construction sector in January decreased by 2.3 percent in the euro area (EA19) and by 1.5 percent in the EU28, according to first estimates from Eurostat, the statistical office of the European Union. In December 2016, production in construction fell by 0.6 percent in the euro area and grew by 0.2 percent in the EU28.
Year-over-year, January production in construction decreased by 6.2 percent in the euro area and by 3.3 percent in the EU28.
The 2.3 percent decrease in the euro area in January 2016, compared with December 2015, is due to civil engineering falling by 7.7 percent and building construction by 1.4 percent. In the EU28, the decrease of 1.5 percent is due to civil engineering falling by 5.2 percent and building construction by 0.7 percent.
Among member states for which data are available, the largest decreases of production in construction were recorded in Slovenia (-12.3 percent), Belgium (-4.6 percent), Spain (-3.8 percent) and France (-3.5 percent). The highest increases were in Romania (5.1 percent), Hungary (4.6 percent) and Slovakia (3.3 percent).
Year-over-year, the 6.2 percent decrease in construction production in the euro area is due to building construction falling by 5.9 percent and civil engineering by 8.2 percent. In the EU28, the decrease of 3.3 percent is due to building construction falling by 2.8 percent and civil engineering falling by 5.7 percent.
Among member states for which data are available, the largest year-over-year decreases of production in construction were recorded in Belgium -18 percent), Slovakia (-17.2 percent), Spain (-13.2 percent) and Bulgaria (-10.3 percent). The largest increases were in Hungary (18.3 percent) and Sweden (10 percent).
