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-27) decreased 2.7 percent as compared to November and was down by 8.5 percent compared to the same month of the previous year. In November 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 December fell 1.7 percent month on month and was down 4.8 compared to December 2011. In November, production had decreased by 0.4 percent compared to October 2012, according to the newly revised data.
In 2012, the average construction sector production index decreased by 5.4 percent in the euro area and by 5.8 percent in the EU-27 compared to 2011.
Building construction in the EU-27 in December decreased by 2.6 percent month on month and was down 8.3 percent compared to December 2011, while civil engineering fell by 2.3 percent from November and was down 11.2 percent as compared to the same month of 2011.
As compared to November, construction output in December increased in Slovenia by 7.2 percent, in Hungary by 3.4 percent and in Sweden by 3.3 percent, while a decrease of 10.3 percent was registered in Bulgaria, a decline of 10.1 percent was recorded in Poland and a fall of 8.9 percent was registered in Germany.