According to the last data released by the European Union Statistical Office (Eurostat), seasonally adjusted production output in the construction sector rose both in the euro area and the European Union as a whole in January 2011. Although the average rate was higher in the eurozone with 1.8% against 1% in the EU27, these are good results for a sector particularly touched by crisis.

Both building construction and civil engineering showed positive data in terms of monthly comparisons with the previous moth. If these data were negative in December 2010, the year seems to have started with good figures for the sector. http://epp.eurostat.ec.europa.eu/, after decreasing -1.0% and -4.7% respectively in December 2010. As for civil engineering, figures increased by 8% in the euro area and by 4.7% in the EU27, after -8.8% and -7.9% respectively in the previous month.

Among the Member States for which data are available at the European Union Statistical Office (Eurostat) for January 2011, construction output rose in five and fell in seven. Germany leads this list with an average monthly increase of 36.3%, followed by France, with 7.9%, and Slovenia with 3.8%. On the contrary, largest decreases were registered in the United Kingdom, where construction output felt by -9.4%, followed by Romania and Poland with -6.4% and -3.1%, respectively.

In annual terms, the highest increase also corresponds to Germany with 55.4%, followed by Poland with 11.1% and Sweden with 10%. On the contrary, largest decreases were in Spain -43.2%, Slovenia -17.1%, and Bulgaria -12.4%. Furthermore, building construction yearly data show a decrease of -3.1% in the euro area, but an increase of 0.2% in the EU27, after -11.5% and -7.7% respectively in December 2010. Civil engineering dropped by -12.5% in the euro area and by -9.8% in the EU27, after -24.5% and -18.0% respectively in the previous month.