Slight fall in August Eurostat figures

August 2014’s seasonally-adjusted production figures for the construction sector were 1.5% up on July in the Eurozone, and up 0.5% in the EU28, according to first estimates from Eurostat, the statistical office of the European Union.

In July, production in construction grew by 0.3% in the Eurozone and 0.4% in the EU28. However, compared with August 2013, the production figure for construction in August 2014 fell by 0.3% in the Eurozone and by 0.8% in the EU28.

Eurostat said the increase of 1.5% in production in the Eurozone for August 2014 over July was a result of building construction rising by 1.4% and civil engineering by 2.1%. In the EU28, the increase of 0.5% was thanks to building construction rising by 0.6% and civil engineering by 0.1%.

It found that among Member States with available data, the highest increases in production were seen in Spain (up 2.7%), Romania (2.5%) and France (2.4%). The largest decreases were found to be in the UK (a fall of 3.2%), Germany (down 2.0%), and Poland and Slovenia (both dropping by 1.8%).

The decrease of 0.3% in production in the Eurozone for August 2014, compared with August a year earlier, was said to be a result of civil engineering falling by 5.2%, although building construction rose by 0.9%.

In the EU28, the decrease of 0.8% was because civil engineering fell by 5.4%, said Eurostat, while building construction rose by 0.4%. For Member States with available data, the largest decreases in production were registered in Romania (a fall of 15.6%) and Portugal (down 6.6%). The largest increases were in Slovenia (up 27.6%), Spain (22.0%) and Sweden (9.4%).