In the construction sector, seasonally adjusted production1 fell by 2.2% in the euro area2 (EA16) and by 2.0% in the EU272 in January 2010, compared with the previous month. In December 20093, production decreased by 1.0% in the euro area, but rose by 0.8% in the EU27.

Compared with January 2009, output in January 2010 dropped by 12.5% in the euro area and by 8.4% in the EU27.

These first estimates are released by Eurostat, the statistical office of the European Union.

Monthly comparison

Among the Member States for which data are available for January 2010, construction output fell in eight and rose in Slovenia (+7.1%), Sweden (+2.7%) and the United Kingdom (+0.9%). The largest decreases were recorded in the Czech Republic (-22.0%), Germany (-14.3%), Bulgaria and Spain (both -6.1%).

Building construction fell by 2.5% in the euro area and by 0.6% in the EU27, after +1.2% and -0.7% respectively in December. Civil engineering declined by 1.7% in the euro area and by 2.3% in the EU27, after -2.1% and -0.5% respectively in the previous month.

Annual comparison

Among the Member States for which data are available for January 2010, construction output fell in nine and grew in Sweden (+13.6%) and the United Kingdom (+1.1%). The largest decreases were registered inBulgaria
(-30.0%), the Czech Republic (-24.6%), Germany (-16.5%) and Spain (-14.6%).

Building construction dropped by 10.6% in the euro area and by 7.6% in the EU27, after -4.9% and -6.5% respectively in December. Civil engineering decreased by 10.5% in the euro area and by 2.9% in the EU27, after
-0.2% and +4.6% respectively in the previous month.

• The production index in construction approximates the evolution of output 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.

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

The seasonally adjusted euro area and EU series are calculated by aggregating the working-day adjusted series from individual Member States and making an adjustment for seasonal effects on these series. Therefore, the seasonally adjusted figures for total construction are based directly on the working day adjusted series from the Member States and not on an aggregation of the seasonally adjusted indices from the Member States. The euro area and EU seasonally adjusted growth rates might differ from the weighted growth rates of the individual Member States.

Working-day adjusted figures are currently transmitted by most of the Member States. For Bulgaria, Denmark and Malta, Eurostat makes the working day adjustment.

If a Member State does not supply monthly data (data not required by the regulation or data required but not yet sent), Eurostat calculates the missing series by linear interpolation from quarterly data, in order to calculate the monthly European aggregates.

• The euro area (EA16) consists of Belgium, Germany, 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 the News 24/2010 of 17 February 2010. The monthly growth rate for December 2009 has been revised from +0.5% to -1.0% in the euro area, and from +0.5% to +0.8% in the EU27. The annual growth rate has been revised from -3.1% to -2.5% in the euro area, and from -3.3% to -3.6% in the EU27.

  
  Eurostat