European construction down again in December

Construction output in the 27 EU countries was down -6,7% in December 2008, compared to December 2007, according to new figures from Eurostat.

The building sector was again the hardest hit, with a -7,7% year-on-year fall, while the drop in civil engineering activity was -1,3%.

Of those countries that reported data, the biggest fall, as last month, was seen in Spain, down -23,7% year-on-year. It was followed by Sweden (-19,6%), Portugal (-6,2%) and France and Bulgaria (-5,2).

On the positive side, several countries enjoyed year-on-year growth for the 12 months up to December. Romania saw a +16,1% rise in construction output, while Slovakia saw a +10,3 % rise.

More modest increases were recorded by Poland (+5%), the UK (+4,9%) and the Netherlands (+4,4%).