According to first estimates released by Eurostat, the Statistical Office of the European Communities, in January this year the seasonally-adjusted production of the construction sector in the European Union member states (EU-27) decreased 1.3 percent as compared to December and was down by 8.0 percent compared to the same month of the previous year. In December 2012, production had decreased by 0.6 percent compared to the previous month.
In the euro area, the seasonally-adjusted production of the construction sector in January fell 1.4 percent month on month and was down 7.3 compared to January 2012. In December, production had increased by 0.3 percent compared to November 2012, according to the newly revised data.
Building construction in the EU-27 in January decreased by 1.3 percent month on month and was down 7.7 percent compared to January 2012, while civil engineering fell by 1.7 percent from December 2012 and was down 9.5 percent as compared to the same month of 2012.
As compared to December, construction output in January increased in Poland by 5.3 percent, in Bulgaria by 3.7 percent and in Germany by 3.0 percent, while a decrease of 7.4 percent was registered in Slovenia, a decline of 5.1 percent was recorded in Sweden, a decline of 4.4 percent was registered in the Czech Republic and a fall of 4.0 percent was registered in France.