According to first estimates by Eurostat, the construction sector increased by 2.7% in the euro area and by 3.5% in the EU27 in June 2010, compared with the previous month, because the production in May fell by 0.7% and 0.1% respectively. Compared with June 2009, output in June 2010 increased by 3.1% in the euro area and 5.4% in the EU27. 

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, the statistical office of the European Union, estimates missing values in order to calculate euro area and EU aggregates.

Monthly comparison

Among the Member States for which data are available for June 2010, construction output rose in eight and fell in six. The highest increases were registered in Romania (+16.5%), Spain (+7.2%) and Poland (+4.5%), and the largest decreases in Hungary (-2.3%), the Netherlands (-1.8%) and Slovenia (-1.6%).

Building construction gained 3.3% in the euro area and 5.7% in the EU27, after -0.3% and -0.5% respectively in May. Civil engineering increased by 1.2% in the euro area and by 2.0% in the EU27, after -2.9% and -1.9% respectively in the previous month.

Annual comparison

Among the Member States for which data are available for June 2010, construction output rose in five and fell in nine. The highest increases were registered in Spain (+18.6%), the United Kingdom (+13.6%) and Poland (+10.2%), and the largest decreases in Hungary (-19.6%), Bulgaria (-17.5%) and Slovenia (-16.9%).

Building construction gained 6.4% in the euro area and 7.5% in the EU27, after -5.6% and -2.3% respectively in May. Civil engineering dropped by 6.7% in the euro area and by 0.6% in the EU27, after -9.2% and -3.4% respectively in the previous month.