In January 2015 seasonally-adjusted production in the construction sector grew by 1.9 per cent in the euro area and by one per cent in the EUR28 compared with December 2014, according to first estimates from Eurostat, the statistical office of the European Union. In December 2014, production in construction grew by 0.2 per cent in both zones.

In January 2015 production in construction grew by three per cent YoY in the euro area and by 1.4 per cent in the EU28.

Monthly comparison
The increase of 1.9 per cent in production in construction in the euro area in January 2015, compared with 2014, is due to building construction rising by 2.3 per cent and civil engineering by 0.2 per cent.

In the EU28, the increase of one per cent is attributed to building construction rising by 1.3 per cent, while civil engineering fell by 0.7 per cent.

Among Member States for which data are available, the highest increase in production in construction were observed in Slovenia (+11.2 per cent), Czech Republic (+8.7 per cent), Hungary (+6.6 per cent) and Germany (+5.0 per cent) and the largest decreases in Romania (-5.3 per cent, the UK (-2.8 per cent) and Bulgaria (-1.7 per cent).

Annual comparison
The increase of three per cent in production in construction in the euro area in January 015, compared with January 2014 was driven by a three per cent rise in both building construction and civil engineering.

In the EU28, the increase of 1.4 per cent was due to building construction rising by 1.6 per cent and civil engineering by 0.4 per cent.

Among Member States for which data are available, the highest increases in production in construction were registered in Spain (+14.4 per cent), Romania (+12.8 per cent), Sweden (+11.3 per cent), the Czech Republic (+8.3 per cent) and Hungary (+8.1 per cent) and the largest decreases in Bulgaria (-4.2 per cent), the UK (-3.3 per cent) and Italy (-2.4 per cent).