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-28) decreased by 1.5 percent compared to December and fell by 3.3 percent compared to the same month of 2016. In December, production grew 0.2 percent compared to the previous month.
In the euro area, the seasonally-adjusted production of the construction sector in January decreased by 2.3 percent month on month and fell by 6.2 percent year on year. In December, production had fallen by 0.6 percent compared to November, according to the newly revised data.
Building construction in the EU-28 in January decreased by 0.7 percent month on month and was down 2.8 percent year on year, while civil engineering output in the region decreased by 5.2 percent from December and was down by 5.7 percent year on year. In the euro area, building construction decreased by 1.4 percent month on month and was down 5.9 percent year on year, while civil engineering output in the region decreased by 7.7 percent month on month and fell by 8.2 percent year on year.
As compared to January last year, construction output in January this year decreased by 18 percent in Belgium, by 17.2 percent in Slovakia, by 13.1 percent in Spain and by 10.3 percent in Bulgaria, while an increase of 18.3 percent was registered in Hungary and a rise of 10 percent was seen in Sweden.
As compared to December, construction output in January decreased by 12.3 percent in Slovenia, by 4.6 percent in Belgium, by 3.8 percent in Spain and by 3.5 percent in France, while construction output increased by 5.1 percent in Romania, by 4.6 percent in Hungary and by 3.3 percent in Slovakia.