Output in Europe’s construction sector rose in March after February’s falls but was down on figures from 2014.
In February 2015, production in construction had dropped by 1.6% and 0.8% respectively.
Comparison of the March 2015 figures with March 2014 shows that production in construction fell by 2.7% in the Euro area and by 1.3% in the EU28.
The month-on-month increase of 0.8% in production in construction in the Euro area was due to building construction rising by 0.3% and civil engineering by 3.2%.
In the EU28, the increase of 1.5% was due to building construction rising by 1.1% and civil engineering by 3.1%.
Among member states with data available, the highest increases were observed in Hungary (+6.3%), Romania (+4.4%) and the United Kingdom (+3.8%). Decreases were recorded in Spain (-1.4%) and Bulgaria (-0.7%).
In terms of the annual comparison, the decrease of 2.7% in the Eurozone was due to building construction falling by 4.0%, while civil engineering rose by 2.5%. In the EU28, the decrease of 1.3% is due to building construction falling by 2.7%, while civil engineering rose by 4.7%.
The largest decreases were registered in Spain (-8.0%), France (-5.3%) and Slovenia (-4.0%), and the highest increases in Romania (+13.3%), Hungary (+12.7%) and the Netherlands (+11.5%).