European construction output continues to fall

The latest figures from Eurostat show that construction output in the EU fell -4,3% in April compared to a year ago. In the 16 country Euro zone, the drop in output was even greater with a -6,1% fall.

Only three countries recorded growth in output this April when compared to April 2009. The strongest performer was Sweden with a +9,1% increase in output, followed by Germany with a +4,8% increase and the UK with a +0,9% improvement.

The biggest loser was Bulgaria with a -22,7% decline in output. Other countries that saw double digit falls in output included Spain (-18,5%), Romania (-17,2%), Hungary (-15,6%), the Czech Republic (-15,5%), Slovenia (-14,9%) and the Netherlands (-11,1%). Smaller declines were also recorded in Portugal (-8,2%), France (-6,9%), Poland (-1,3%) and Slovakia (-0,7%).

Across the EU, building construction fell -4,9%, while in the Euro zone the fall was more pronounced at -6 %. Civil engineering output also fell across the EU and in the Euro zone by -0,8% and -6,5% respectively.

When comparing construction output from March to April this year, Slovakia saw the largest increase with +9% growth, followed by the Czech Republic (+4,8%), Germany (+2,6%), Poland (+2,2%) and Sweden (+1%).

Output in the Netherlands remained unchanged while March to April declines were recorded in Hungary (-8,1%), Spain (-4,9%), Portugal (-3,7%), Bulgaria (-2,6%), France and Slovenia (-2,2%), Romania (-0,8%) and the UK (-0,1%).

While March to April building output fell in the EU and the Euro zone by -1,2% and -0,9% respectively, civil engineering saw growth of +3% in the EU and +3,4% in the 16 country Euro zone.