Euro area suffers

Euro area construction output in November last year dropped -6,8% against November 2009, while an annual fall of -1,7% was reported in the EU member countries (EU 27), according to the latest figures from Eurostat.

And Eurostat's month-on-month comparison also revealed declines. Compared to October last year, seasonally adjusted production fell by -0,9% in November in the Euro area, while a -0,4% monthly drop was recorded in the EU27.

The Euro area consists of Belgium, Germany, Ireland, Greece, Spain, France, Italy, Cyprus, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, Austria, Portugal, Slovenia, Slovakia and Finland, while the EU27 consists of all 27 countries that make up the European Union.

Eurostat said November's figures showed annual hikes in construction output for just six countries.

Poland led the pack with a +14,9% increase in production, followed by the UK with a +11,1% annual increase, and Sweden with +10,4%.

Offsetting this, the largest drop in November's annual construction output was registered in Spain, which reported a plunge of -30,2% compared to the same point in 2009.

Other fallers included Romania, which reported a -17,7% year-on-year drop in output, and Slovenia, which saw output fall -16% compared to November 2009.

Eurostat also reported a decline in output for overall building construction and civil engineering activity in November, compounding annual declines reported in October.

Month-on-month, building construction activity decreased -5,7% in the Euro area and -0,7% in the EU27 during November last year, after falls of -5,6% and -0,8% respectively in October.

And November's civil engineering output dropped by -11,7% in the Euro area and by -6,5% in the EU27, after falls of -8,1% and -4,5% in the previous month.

Eurostat is the statistical office of the EU.