Europe’s construction output rises

Euro Area construction sector output rose +3,5% year-on-year in February according to Eurostat - the statistical arm of the European Commission.

The Euro area consists of Belgium, Germany, Ireland, Greece, Spain, France, Italy, Cyprus, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, Austria, Portugal, Slovenia, Slovakia and Finland, and has included Estonia since January this year.

In addition, annual growth in February of +2,9% was recorded in the EU 27 - all 27 countries that make up the European Union.

According to Eurostat, construction output rose in six Member States and declined in eight. The highest increases were registered in Germany (+56,3%), Poland (+21,3%) and the Netherlands (+15,4%), while the largest decreases were recorded in Spain (-31,3%), Slovenia (-20,0%) and Bulgaria (-13,6%).

Building construction increased by 3,6% year-on-year in the euro area and by 3,4% in the EU27 in February, while civil engineering activity rose by +0,4% in the euro area, but dropped by +1,1% in the EU27.

Meanwhile, a month-on-month comparison of the figures revealed more subdued gains. Eurostat said February's seasonally adjusted construction output rose by +0,7% in the EU 27 but fell by -0,7% in the Euro Area compared to January 2011.

The highest monthly increases were registered in the UK (+8,2%), Portugal (+4,3%) and Germany (+3,4%), while the largest decreases were recorded in Slovenia (-7,9%) and Slovakia (-3,8%).