According to the most recent figures In the construction sector from Eurostat, the Statistical Office of the European Communities, the seasonally adjusted production fell by 0.8% in the euro area (EA15) and by 0.4% in the EU27 in April 2008, compared with the previous month. In March, production decreased by 2.8% and 2.7% respectively. Compared with April 2007, output in April 2008 dropped by 2.4% in the euro area and by 0.3% in the EU27.

Monthly comparison

Among the Member States for which data are available for April 2008:

• Construction output rose in nine and fell in four. The most significant increases were registered in Portugal (+10.6%), Bulgaria (+6.9%) and Poland (+3.2%)
• The largest decreases in Spain (-6.5%) and Germany (-2.9%).
• Building construction remained stable in both the euro area and the EU27, after -2.4% and -2.7% respectively in March.
• Civil engineering fell by 3.6% in the euro area and by 3.5% in the EU27, after -2.2% and -1.2% respectively in the previous month.

Annual comparison

Among the Member States for which data are available for April 2008:

• Construction output rose in ten and fell in three. The largest increases were recorded in Romania (+30.0%), Slovenia (+23.3%), Poland (+22.8%) and Bulgaria (+21.0%)
• The highest decrease in Spain (-21.8%).
• Building construction fell by 1.8% in the euro area, but increased by 0.4% in the EU27, after -3.3% and -1.9% respectively in March.
• Civil engineering fell by 4.8% in the euro area and by 3.5% in the EU27, after +0.7% and +3.4% respectively in the previous month.

Methodological issues

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.