Europe’s construction output up again
22 April 2014
Construction output grew 6.7% year-on-year in the Eurozone in February, and was up 5.5% across all member states (EU28), according to the latest data from Eurostat.
The figures continued the strong start to the year reported in January, and marked a break in the long-standing trend of falling year-on-year construction output that dominated 2013.
The strongest year-on-year increases in February were registered in Slovenia (33.1%), Hungary (28.3%), Spain (23.9%), Poland (14.4%) and Germany (14.1%). The largest decreases were seen in Romania (14.7%), Portugal (11.5%) and Italy (7.9%).
In terms of sectors, building construction output increased 6.6% in the Eurozone and 5.9% in the EU28 in February this year compared with February 2013. Civil engineering output was up 7.6% in the Eurozone and 3.9% in the EU28.
Monthly comparison
Compared with January this year, construction output in February also showed growth – increasing 0.1% in both the Eurozone and EU28.
The highest month-on-month increases were registered in Poland (17.4%), Hungary (8.2%) and Spain (3.0%), while the strongest decreases were seen in Slovenia (4.9%), Italy (3.7%) and UK (2.8%).
In terms of sectors, Eurostat said building construction output fell 0.4% in both the Eurozone and EU28 in February, compared with January. However, civil engineering output increased 1.1% in the Eurozone and 1% in the EU28.
