Data published by Eurostat showed that in August, the construction output decreased by 2.5% per year after a 2.3% decline in July (revised from -2.2%). It was the 7th reduction in a row. Economists had expected a 1.7% decline. On a monthly basis, the volume of construction rose 0.1% after a 0.5% decline in July. Meanwhile, among the EU countries, the volume of construction increased by 0.4% m/m and fell by 2.4% per annum.
In the euro area, production in construction increased for construction of buildings (+0.9%) and specialized construction activities (+0.3%), but decreased by 2.1% for civil engineering. In the EU, production in construction increased for construction of buildings (+1.8%) and specialized construction activities (+0.4%), but decreased by 2.1% for civil engineering.
Compared with August 2023, in the euro area, production in construction for construction of buildings (-2.1%), specialized construction activities (-3.0%) and civil engineering (-3.2%). In the EU, production in construction decreased by 2.5% for construction of buildings, by 3.9% for civil engineering and by 2.7% for specialized construction activities.
Among Member States, the highest monthly increases in production in construction were recorded in Sweden (+7.2%), the Netherlands (+6.3%) and Romania (+4.7%). The largest decreases were observed in Slovakia (-4.3%), Belgium (-3.2%) and Slovenia (-3.1%).