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 0.9 percent compared to November and was up by 0.5 percent compared to the same month of 2017. In November, production in construction grew by 0.4 percent when compared to the previous month.
In the euro area, the seasonally-adjusted production of the construction sector in December increased by 0.7 percent compared to the same month of 2017 and was down by 0.4 percent compared to the previous month. In November, production rose by 0.3 percent compared to October, according to the newly revised data.
Building construction in the EU-28 in December fell by 1.3 percent month on month and was down by 0.9 percent year on year, while civil engineering output in the region remain unchanged from November and increased by 5.1 percent year on year. In the euro area, building construction declined by 0.7 percent month on month and by 0.6 percent year on year, while civil engineering output in the region increased by 0.4 percent month on month and surged by 5.2 percent year on year.
On the other hand, production in construction in 2018 when compared to 2017, increased by 1.7 percent in the euro area and by two percent in the EU-28.
As compared to December 2017, construction output in December 2018 increased by 17.5 percent in Hungary, by 11.4 percent in Poland and by 11.1 percent in Slovakia and 10.9 percent in Spain, while it decreased by 7.7 percent in Romania, by 4.1 percent in Germany, and by three percent in the UK.
As compared to November, construction output in December last year increased by 6.2 percent in Sweden, by three percent in the Czech Republic and by 2.6 percent in Spain, while construction output decreased by 12.4 percent in Slovenia, by 4.1 percent in Germany and 3.8 percent in the UK.