Seasonally adjusted construction production fell 1.6% in euro area, rose 1.6% in EU in October from September; year-over-year, construction production decreased 1.3%, 1.6%, respectively

Cindy Allen

BRUSSELS , December 19, 2012 (press release) – In the construction sector, seasonally adjusted production1 fell by 1.6% in the euro area2 (EA17), while it rose by 1.6% in the EU272 in October 2012, compared with the previous month, according to first estimates released by Eurostat, the statistical office of the European Union. In September 20123, production decreased by 1.3% and 1.6% respectively.

Compared with October 2011, production in October 2012 dropped by 4.1% in the euro area and by 4.4% in the EU27.

Figures and graphics available in PDF and WORD PROCESSED

Monthly comparison

Among the Member States for which data are available for October 2012, production in construction fell in nine and rose in six. The largest decreases were registered in Slovenia (-21.1%), Germany (-5.3%) and Sweden (-4.7%), and the highest increases in the United Kingdom (+11.7%), Bulgaria (+2.2%) and Italy (+1.9%).

Building construction decreased by 1.3% in the euro area, but increased by 2.1% in the EU27, after -2.1% and
-2.4% respectively in September 2012. Civil engineering dropped by 2.1% in the euro area, but rose by 2.0% in the EU27, after +0.6% and +0.2% respectively in the previous month.

Annual comparison

Among the Member States for which data are available for October 2012, production in construction fell in twelve and rose in three. The largest decreases were registered in Portugal (-19.1%), Slovenia (-15.5%), Slovakia
(-12.8%) and Italy (-12.1%), and the increases in Bulgaria (+5.7%), Spain (+3.4%) and Hungary (+1.3%).

Building construction declined by 3.8% in the euro area and by 4.5% in the EU27, after -4.5% and -7.1% respectively in September 2012. Civil engineering decreased by 5.3% in the euro area and by 3.5% in the EU27, after -2.3% and -5.0% respectively in the previous month.

The index of production in construction approximates the evolution of the volume of production within the sector, broken down into building construction and civil engineering. For the Member States which produce the construction index, but do not provide data for the reference period, Eurostat estimates missing values in order to calculate euro area and EU aggregates.

The weights of the Member States in the EU and euro area aggregates can be found at:

https://circabc.europa.eu/w/browse/b17d3ca3-51cc-44ab-92a8-433592393a61

See file: EU27_EA17_NEWS_RELEASE_WEIGHTINGS_2005_nace2.

More detailed data can be found in the short-term statistics database on the Eurostat website: http://epp.eurostat.ec.europa.eu/portal/page/portal/short_term_business_statistics/data/database

For total construction, and according to the Council Regulation 1165/98, Eurostat publishes national seasonally adjusted data if available. For Denmark, Estonia, Greece, Spain, Cyprus, Luxembourg, the Netherlands and Sweden, Eurostat makes the adjustment.

The seasonally adjusted euro area and EU series for production in construction are calculated by aggregating the seasonally adjusted national data. The monthly index as presented in this News Release is calculated only on the basis of the data of those countries reporting monthly data.

The euro area (EA17) includes Belgium, Germany, Estonia, Ireland, Greece, Spain, France, Italy, Cyprus, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, Austria, Portugal, Slovenia, Slovakia and Finland.

The EU27 includes Belgium (BE), Bulgaria (BG), the Czech Republic (CZ), Denmark (DK), Germany (DE), Estonia (EE), Ireland (IE), Greece (EL), Spain (ES), France (FR), Italy (IT), Cyprus (CY), Latvia (LV), Lithuania (LT), Luxembourg (LU), Hungary (HU), Malta (MT), the Netherlands (NL), Austria (AT), Poland (PL), Portugal (PT), Romania (RO), Slovenia (SI), Slovakia (SK), Finland (FI), Sweden (SE) and the United Kingdom (UK).

Data of previous months have been revised compared to those issued in News Release 163/2012 of 19 November 2012. The monthly growth rates for September 2012 have been revised from -1.4% to -1.3% in the euro area and from -1.8% to
-1.6% in the EU27. The annual growth rates have been revised from -2.6% to -3.8% in the euro area and from -5.8% to
-6.5% in the EU27.

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