Monthly and annual rises for Europe’s construction output

Construction output in Europe rose on both a monthly and annual basis in August, according to the latest figures from Eurostat - the statistical office of the European Union.

Seasonally adjusted production rose by 2.5% in the Euro Area in August this year, compared with the same month in 2010, while production rose 0.6% in the whole of the European Union (EU27). Between July and August this year, construction output rose by 0.2% in the Euro Area and remained stable in the EU27.

The Euro Area consists of Belgium, Germany, Ireland, Greece, Spain, France, Italy, Cyprus, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, Austria, Portugal, Slovenia, Slovakia, Finland, and, since January this year, Estonia.

The strongest year-on-year growth was recorded in Poland, where construction output was 10.6% higher in August, 2011, than it was in 2010. Romania also saw strong growth, registering a 6.3% increase, while Germany saw a 5.2% rise in construction output.

Offsetting this were decreases in Slovenia (32.8%), Hungary (12.3%) and Portugal (10%).

Slovenian construction output also fell month-on-month, registering a 6.6% decrease between July and August this year. Slovakia also registered a 2.3% month-on-month fall, while Romania - which saw growth on an annual comparison - registered a 4.5% drop in construction output between July and August.

The biggest monthly increases in construction output came from Portugal (7.6%), France (3.2) and Hungary (1.5%).

Eurostat said the building construction sector registered a 3% annual increase in the Euro Area in August, and a 1% increase in the EU27. In contrast, the civil engineering sector's output fell by 1.1% year-on-year in the Euro Area and by 0.7% in the EU 27.