Europe’s construction output jumped in January

Construction output in Europe showed a strong year-on-year increase in January, with a 7.3% rise across all Member States (EU28) and 8.8% growth in the Eurozone.

The data from Eurostat marks a break in the long-standing trend of falling year-on-year construction output that dominated 2013.

The highest increases for January were registered in Slovenia (42.8%), Spain (17.6%), Hungary (15.9%) and Germany (14.1%), and the largest decreases in Portugal (14%), Romania (9.2%) and Italy (7.9%).

In terms of sectors, building construction output jumped 9.1% in the Eurozone and 8.1% in the EU28 in January this year, compared with January 2013, while civil engineering output was up 7.6% in the Eurozone and 3.8% in the EU28.

Monthly comparison

Comparing January 2014 with December 2013 also showed growth. Overall construction output was up 1.5% month-on-month in the Eurozone, and 1.3% in the EU28. The highest increases were observed in Slovenia (22.4%), Spain (5.8%) and Germany (4.4%), and the largest decreases in Romania (4.3%), Slovakia (3.9%) and France (2.2%).

In terms of sectors, building construction output was up 1.7% in the Eurozone and 1.6% in the EU28, while civil engineering output fell 1.2% in the Eurozone and dropped 1.8% in the EU28.