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) decreased by one percent compared to November and rose by 1.4 percent compared to the same month of 2014. In November, production had increased by 0.7 percent compared to the previous month. In addition, in the European Union member states, production of the construction sector in 2015 increased 0.8 percent on year-on-year basis.
In the euro area, the seasonally-adjusted production of the construction sector in December decreased by 0.6 percent month on month and moved down by 0.4 percent year on year. In November, production had increased by 0.9 percent compared to October according to the newly revised data. In addition, in the euro area, production of the construction sector in 2015 decreased one percent on year-on-year basis.
Building construction in the EU-28 in December decreased by 0.5 percent month on month and was up 1.2 percent year on year, while civil engineering output in the region rose 2.6 percent from November and was up by 2.8 percent year on year. In the euro area, building construction fell 0.4 percent month on month and was up 0.9 percent year on year, while civil engineering output in the region decreased by 0.7 percent month on month and by 6.1 percent year on year.
As compared to December 2014, construction output in December 2015 increased by 24.9 percent in Slovakia, by 15.2 percent in Sweden and by 13.9 percent in Romania, while a decrease of 9.3 percent was registered in Slovenia, a decline of 4.7 percent was seen in Portugal, with decreases of 3.6 percent in France and 3.1 percent in the Netherlands.
As compared to November, construction output in December increased by 5.8 percent in Romania, by 4.3 percent in Slovakia and by 2.6 percent in Sweden, while construction output decreased by 12.5 percent in Slovenia, by 1.6 percent in France and by 0.9 percent in the Netherlands.