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) fell by 2.8 percent compared to November and was down by 2.6 percent compared to the same month of 2018. In November, production in construction grew by 0.8 percent when compared to the previous month.
In the euro area, the seasonally-adjusted production of the construction sector in December decreased by 3.7 percent compared to the same month of 2018 and was down by 3.1 percent compared to the previous month. In November, production rose by 0.7 percent compared to October, according to the newly revised data.
Building construction in the EU-27 in December declined by three percent month on month and was down by 2.8 percent year on year, while civil engineering output in the region fell by 1.1 percent from November and increased by 0.4 percent year on year. In the euro area, building construction decreased by 3.6 percent month on month and by 4.6 percent year on year, while civil engineering output in the region dropped by 1.4 percent month on month and was up by 0.9 percent year on year.
On the other hand, production in construction in 2019 when compared to 2018 rose by 1.8 percent in the euro area and by 2.4 percent in the EU-27.
As compared to December 2018, construction output in December 2019 increased by 23.1 percent in Romania, by 6.2 percent in the Czech Republic and by 2.9 percent in Slovenia and Sweden, while it decreased by 6.5 percent in Belgium, by 6.2 percent in Spain, and by 5.5 percent in Poland.
As compared to November, construction output in December last year increased by 3.4 percent in Slovakia, by 1.6 percent in the Czech Republic and by 0.3 percent in Sweden, while construction output decreased by 8.7 percent in Germany, by 3.4 percent in Poland and 3.0 percent in Hungary.