Figures comparing December 2015 with November 2015 saw production in construction down by 0.6% in the Eurozone and by 0.1% across the 28 countries of the EU (EU28). In November 2015, production had grown by 0.9% in the euro area and by 0.7% in the EU28.
The first estimates from Eurostat, the statistical office of the European Union, also compare December 2015 compared with December 2014. This shows that production in construction fell by 0.4% in the Eurozone and grew by 1.4% in the EU28.
Average output in construction for the whole year 2015, compared with 2014, decreased by 1.0% in the euro area and increased by 0.8% in the EU28.
The decrease of 0.6% in production in construction in the euro area in December 2015, compared with November 2015, was due to civil engineering falling by 0.7% and building construction by 0.4%.
In the EU28, the decrease of 0.1% came from building construction falling by 0.5%, while civil engineering rose by 2.6%.
Among member states with data available, the largest decreases were recorded in Slovenia (-12.5%), France (-1.6%) and the Netherlands (-0.9%), and the highest increases in Romania (+5.8%), Slovakia (+4.3%) and Sweden (+2.6%).
The decrease of 0.4% in production in construction in the euro area in December 2015, compared with December 2014, is due to civil engineering falling by 6.1%, while building construction rose by 0.9%. In the EU28, the increase of 1.4% resulted from civil engineering rising by 2.8% and building construction by 1.2%.
The largest decreases in production in construction were recorded in Slovenia (-9.3%), Portugal (-4.7%), France (-3.6%) and the Netherlands (-3.1%), and the highest increases in Slovakia (+24.9%), Sweden (+15.2%) and Romania (+13.9%).
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