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) increased by 1.6 percent compared to December and rose by 4.4 percent compared to the same month of 2015. In December, production had decreased by 0.1 percent compared to the previous month.
In the euro area, the seasonally-adjusted production of the construction sector in January increased by 3.6 percent month on month and moved up by six percent year on year. In December, production had decreased by 0.7 percent compared to November according to the newly revised data.
Building construction in the EU-28 in January increased by 2.7 percent month on month and was up 5.3 percent year on year, while civil engineering output in the region fell 2.5 percent from December and was down by 0.8 percent year on year. In the euro area, building construction increased 4.1 percent month on month and was up 7.1 percent year on year, while civil engineering output in the region increased by 1.7 percent month on month and by 1.4 percent year on year.
As compared to January 2015, construction output in January this year increased by 20.3 percent in Spain, by 18 percent in Sweden and by 16.4 percent in Slovakia, while a decrease of 23.4 percent was registered in Slovenia, a decline of 20.2 percent was seen in Hungary and with a decrease of 10.7 percent in Bulgaria.