According to first estimates released by Eurostat, the Statistical Office of the European Communities, in December last year the seasonally-adjusted production of the construction sector in the European Union member states (EU-28) increased by 0.6 percent compared to November and rose by 1.6 percent compared to the same month of 2015. In November, production grew 0.7 percent compared to the previous month.
In the euro area, the seasonally-adjusted production of the construction sector in December decreased by 0.2 percent month on month and rose by 3.2 percent year on year. In November, production had risen by 0.9 percent compared to October, according to the newly revised data.
Production in the construction sector in 2016 increased by 1.3 percent in the EU-28 and by 1.6 percent in the euro area, compared to 2015.
Building construction in the EU-28 in December increased by 0.2 percent month on month and was up 2.3 percent year on year, while civil engineering output in the region increased by 1.2 percent from November and was down by 0.5 percent year on year. In the euro area, building construction decreased by 0.5 percent month on month and was up 2.5 percent year on year, while civil engineering output in the region increased by 0.8 percent month on month and rose by 6.5 percent year on year.
As compared to December 2015, construction output in December last year increased by 11.2 percent in Sweden, by 10.4 percent in the Netherlands and by 9.1 percent in Slovenia, while a decrease of 26.7 percent was registered in Romania, a decline of 18.5 percent was seen in Slovakia and a fall of 14.9 percent was recorded in Hungary.
As compared to November, construction output in December last year decreased by 4.3 percent in Romania, by 3.1 percent in Slovakia and by 2.1 percent in Bulgaria, while construction output increased by 4.7 percent in Sweden, by 2.5 percent in Poland and by 2.2 percent in both the Czech Republic and the United Kingdom.