Declining construction output in Europe continues

Construction output in August fell 4.7% year-on-year in the Eurozone and was down 2.5% among all member states (EU28), according to the latest data from Eurostat.

The data continues the downward trajectory in European construction output that has been recorded since the start of the year.

The largest year-on-year falls in August were registered in Portugal (-12.8%), Italy (-10.6%), Bulgaria (-9.5%) and Poland (-8.9%). The highest increases were seen in Hungary (14.6%), Romania (8.9%), Spain (7.0%) and Sweden (5.0%).

In terms of sectors, building construction output decreased 4.3% in the Eurozone and 1.4% in the EU28, while civil engineering output fell 7.4% in the Eurozone and 7.3% in the EU28.

Monthly comparison

However, comparing output in August with output in July revealed a more mixed picture. August’s construction output was up 0.5% in the Eurozone and also increased 0.4% in the EU28.

The highest month-on-month increases were observed in Portugal (10.8%), Sweden (4.8%), Hungary (4.0%) and Italy (3.4%), while the largest decreases were recorded in the Czech Republic (-3.6%), Slovenia (-2.8%), Germany (-1.9%) and Poland (-1.6%).

Building construction output was down 0.1% in both the Eurozone and the EU28, while civil engineering output was up 0.9% in the Eurozone and 1.0% in the EU28.