Another fall in Europe’s construction output

Construction output from the 27 EU member states (EU27) fell 5.1% year-on-year in April, making it the fourth consecutive month to record declining output since the start of the year.

The largest decreases in April were registered in Italy and Slovakia (both -15.1%), while Spain saw construction output fall 14.6% year-on-year, Portugal registered a 14.3% drop and Slovenia saw output fall 14.1%.

In contrast, the highest increases were registered in Romania (22.8%), Poland (9.7%) and Sweden (4.3%).

Eurostat said EU27 output in the building construction segment fell 4.6%, while civil engineering output fell 8.6% year-on-year in April.

And on a month by month comparison, April's output also fell. EU27 construction output fell 6.6% in April, compared to March this year.

The largest monthly decreases were registered in the UK (-18.1%), Slovenia (-9.3%), Portugal (-6.7%) and Germany (-6.0%).

The highest monthly increases were reported in Romania (11.5%), France (2.3%) and Poland (1.9%). Eurostat said output in the building construction sector dropped 7.3% between March and April in the EU27, while civil engineering output fell 2.7%.