Euro area construction output down 1% in 2015

Average production in construction for the year 2015, compared with 2014, decreased by one per cent in the euro area and increased by 0.8 per cent in the EU28, according to first estimates from Eurostat, the statistical office of the European Union.

In December 2015 alone, compared with November 2015, seasonally-adjusted production in the building sector fell by 0.6 per cent in the euro area (EA19). In November 2015 production in construction grew by 0.9 per cent in the euro area and by 0.7 per cent in the EU28.

In December 2015 compared with December 2014, production in construction fell by 0.4 per cent in the
euro area and grew by 1.4 per cent in the EU28.

Monthly comparison by construction sector and by member state

The decrease of 0.6 per cent in production in construction in the euro area in December 2015, compared with November 2015, is due to civil engineering falling by 0.7 per cent and building construction by 0.4 per cent. In the EU28, the decrease of 0.1 per cent is due to building construction falling by 0.5 per cent, while civil engineering rose by 2.6 per cent.

Among member states for which data are available, the largest decreases in production in construction were recorded in Slovenia (-12.5 per cent), France (-1.6 per cent) and The Netherlands (-0.9 per cent). The highest increases were in Romania (+5.8 per cent), Slovakia (+4.3 per cent) and Sweden (+2.6 per cent).

Annual comparison by construction sector and by member state

The decrease of 0.4 per cent in production in construction in the euro area in December 2015, compared with December 2014, is due to civil engineering falling by 6.1 per cent, while building construction rose by 0.9 per cent.

In the EU28 the increase of 1.4 per cent is due to civil engineering rising by 2.8 per cent and building construction by 1.2 per cent.

Among member states for which data are available, the largest decreases in production in construction were recorded in Slovenia (-9.3 per cent), Portugal (-4.7 per cent), France (-3.6 per cent) and The Netherlands (-3.1 per cent), and the highest increases in Slovakia (+24.9 per cent), Sweden (+15.2 per cent) and Romania (+13.9 per cent).