Construction output down 2.2% in the euro area

In the construction sector, seasonally adjusted production1 fell by 2.2% in the euro area (EA15)2 and by 2.5% in the EU272 in March 2008, compared with the previous month. In February3,
production increased by 1.6% in the euro area and by 2.5% in the EU27.
Compared with March 2007, output in March 2008 decreased by 1.4% in the euro area and by 0.1% in the EU27.
These first estimates are released by Eurostat, the Statistical Office of the European Communities.

Monthly comparison

In March 2008, among the Member States for which data are available, construction output rose in Sweden ( 5.1%) and Poland ( 1.4%) and remained stable in France, while decreases were recorded
in nine Member States. The most significant falls were observed in Germany (-12.3%), Slovenia (-12.2%) and the United Kingdom (-9.0%).
Building construction fell by 1.9% in the euro area and by 2.5% in the EU27, after 0.9% and 2.1% respectively in February. Civil engineering decreased by 1.4% in the euro area and by 1.0% in
the EU27, after 3.4% and 4.0% in the previous month.

Annual comparison

In March 2008, among the Member States for which data are available, construction output rose in eight and fell in four. The largest increases were recorded in Romania ( 32.5%), Sweden ( 23.2%)
and Slovenia ( 22.5%). The highest decreases were registered in Spain (-10.1%) and Portugal (-6.5%).
Building construction decreased by 2.1% in the euro area and by 0.8% in the EU27, after 4.6% and 5.5% respectively in February. Civil engineering rose by 1.3% in the euro area and by 4.2% in
the EU27, after 3.0% and 5.0% in the previous month.

1. For methodological issues, see News Release 107/2001 of 16 October 2001.
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 (currently Belgium, the Czech Republic, Germany,
France, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Hungary, Austria, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovenia, Slovakia, Finland and the United Kingdom). 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.
Working day adjusted figures are currently transmitted by Belgium, the Czech Republic, Germany, Estonia, Ireland, Greece, Spain, France, Italy, Cyprus, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Hungary,
the Netherlands, Austria, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovenia, Slovakia, Finland, Sweden and the United Kingdom. For the remaining Member States (Bulgaria, Denmark and Malta) Eurostat makes the
working day adjustment.
If a Member State does not supply monthly data (data not required by the regulation or data required but not yet sent), Eurostat calculates the missing series by linear interpolation from
quarterly data, in order to calculate the monthly European aggregates.

2. The euro area (EA15) consists of Belgium, Germany, Ireland, Greece, Spain, France, Italy, Cyprus, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, Austria, Portugal, Slovenia and Finland.
The EU27 includes Belgium (BE), Bulgaria (BG), the Czech Republic (CZ), Denmark (DK), Germany (DE), Estonia (EE), Ireland (IE), Greece (EL), Spain (ES), France (FR), Italy (IT), Cyprus (CY),
Latvia (LV), Lithuania (LT), Luxembourg (LU), Hungary (HU), Malta (MT), the Netherlands (NL), Austria (AT), Poland (PL), Portugal (PT), Romania (RO), Slovenia (SI), Slovakia (SK), Finland (FI),
Sweden (SE) and the United Kingdom (UK).

3. The figures published in News Release 53/2008 of 17 April 2008 for February 2008 have been revised. Compared with January 2008 the figures were 1.2% in the euro area and 2.2% in the EU27.
Compared with February 2007 the figures were 4.3% in the euro area and 5.0% in the EU27.

4. The production indices in the construction sector for Belgium are currently being adapted by the Belgian statistical authorities. Provisional data provided to Eurostat are confidential.

Construction output – quarterly variation / monthly variation
% change compared with the previous quarter / previous month*

Total

Q2-07

Q3-07

Q4-07

Q1-08

Oct-07

Nov-07

Dec-07

Jan-08

Feb-08

Mar-08

EA15

-1.5

0.4

-0.1

2.3

1.7

-1.8

-0.1

2.4

1.6

-2.2

EU27

-1.1

0.5

0.7

1.6

1.8

-2.1

0.4

1.5

2.5

-2.5

Belgium 4

c

c

c

:

c

c

c

c

c

:

Bulgaria

4.4

4.9

9.5

:

:

:

:

:

:

:

Czech Republic

-1.8

0.8

2.8

2.4

1.2

1.3

0.9

-0.4

2.7

-0.3

Denmark

4.2

0.1

-3.0

:

-3.2

0.5

-1.0

4.5

-1.2

-0.3

Germany

-7.5

0.4

-0.2

10.5

-1.5

-0.2

2.2

11.4

3.1

-12.3

Estonia

1.6

1.9

3.1

:

:

:

:

:

:

:

Ireland

8.2

-10.3

4.0

c

:

:

:

:

:

:

Greece

-3.5

13.0

-5.5

:

:

:

:

:

:

:

Spain

-2.0

-1.0

-1.7

-2.9

3.1

-4.2

-0.8

-1.2

1.2

-1.7

France

0.3

0.3

1.4

1.1

2.4

-0.8

-0.2

1.1

0.6

0.0

Italy

-2.0

1.6

-0.3

c

c

c

c

c

c

c

Cyprus

3.3

0.3

1.8

:

:

:

:

:

:

:

Latvia

3.0

2.0

-3.2

:

:

:

:

:

:

:

Lithuania

3.2

3.0

1.9

5.9

:

:

:

:

:

:

Luxembourg

-3.9

-2.4

-0.1

:

3.5

-3.8

-0.4

3.1

2.4

:

Hungary

-8.8

-8.2

-3.6

:

3.6

-3.7

1.7

-5.6

6.0

:

Malta

-0.2

1.9

0.4

:

:

:

:

:

:

:

Netherlands

1.5

1.3

0.0

3.3

1.4

-0.5

-1.1

4.8

0.0

-1.6

Austria

-1.7

-1.9

-1.0

:

1.8

-1.5

2.1

2.8

3.1

:

Poland

0.0

2.4

4.6

2.0

3.3

2.1

5.1

-5.5

4.9

1.4

Portugal

-1.1

0.6

-0.1

-2.2

2.9

-1.0

-0.1

-0.5

2.0

-7.5

Romania

9.8

8.0

7.1

4.2

2.9

1.2

1.8

7.4

-4.4

-4.9

Slovenia

6.5

-1.6

-3.8

33.0

3.9

-3.9

-10.8

51.0

1.0

-12.2

Slovakia

-2.3

-0.8

-1.8

18.9

-5.3

0.7

5.3

17.2

-1.5

-3.5

Finland

0.5

-0.1

3.8

c

2.3

0.7

-0.9

3.6

4.8

c

Sweden

-1.4

4.4

0.9

2.5

-5.1

1.2

3.2

-2.6

1.5

5.1

United Kingdom

0.7

0.6

1.1

0.5

12.1

-9.8

-0.7

-2.6

7.9

-9.0

Building

Q2-07

Q3-07

Q4-07

Q1-08

Oct-07

Nov-07

Dec-07

Jan-08

Feb-08

Mar-08

EA15

-1.6

0.4

0.1

1.7

1.3

-1.5

-0.5

2.2

0.9

-1.9

EU27

-0.9

0.7

0.3

1.5

1.2

-1.9

0.3

1.6

2.1

-2.5

Civil engineering

Q2-07

Q3-07

Q4-07

Q1-08

Oct-07

Nov-07

Dec-07

Jan-08

Feb-08

Mar-08

EA15

-0.3

-1.0

0.1

2.1

2.1

-1.0

-1.1

1.9

3.4

-1.4

EU27

-0.5

0.1

0.4

2.0

5.7

-2.6

-1.8

2.3

4.0

-1.0

* Seasonally adjusted
: Data not available
c Confidential

Construction output – annual variation
% change compared with the same quarter / the same month of the previous year*

Total

Q2-07

Q3-07

Q4-07

Q1-08

Oct-07

Nov-07

Dec-07

Jan-08

Feb-08

Mar-08

EA15

2.7

1.8

-0.8

1.0

2.8

-1.7

-4.0

2.4

4.4

-1.4

EU27

3.1

2.5

0.3

2.1

3.5

-0.5

-2.3

2.8

5.6

-0.1

Belgium 4

c

c

c

:

c

c

c

c

c

:

Bulgaria

14.9

0.8

22.1

:

:

:

:

:

:

:

Czech Republic

3.3

-1.0

4.6

6.1

1.6

5.4

6.9

0.9

10.6

6.8

Denmark

10.2

1.2

-10.7

:

-10.4

-9.3

-12.4

6.7

4.8

:

Germany

-0.7

-2.1

-3.9

2.9

-1.5

-5.8

-4.7

7.1

4.8

-5.0

Estonia

7.2

4.7

9.3

:

:

:

:

:

:

:

Ireland

2.7

-4.7

-14.9

c

:

:

:

:

:

:

Greece

20.7

23.4

7.9

:

:

:

:

:

:

:

Spain

0.2

-1.3

-4.4

-8.0

4.8

-6.2

-9.5

-8.0

-5.6

-10.1

France

3.5

3.6

2.5

3.4

4.7

2.3

0.1

4.7

2.9

2.6

Italy

4.4

6.7

1.1

c

c

c

c

c

c

c

Cyprus

6.9

8.2

5.7

:

:

:

:

:

:

:

Latvia

15.9

13.2

10.0

:

:

:

:

:

:

:

Lithuania

29.3

16.1

10.6

12.6

:

:

:

:

:

:

Luxembourg

1.5

-3.2

-4.4

:

-0.3

-4.1

-10.0

-5.3

-3.3

:

Hungary

-6.1

-19.4

-21.9

:

-21.5

-23.7

-20.8

-27.4

-19.3

:

Malta

1.1

2.8

1.7

:

:

:

:

:

:

:

Netherlands

6.0

5.3

4.2

6.4

6.5

4.4

0.1

9.6

7.8

2.2

Austria

6.8

1.3

-1.6

:

-0.8

-3.0

-1.1

-0.2

3.3

:

Poland

15.6

10.2

9.1

14.5

3.6

10.9

12.8

6.5

18.6

17.5

Portugal

-5.2

-3.2

-0.4

-2.9

-0.4

-2.7

2.0

-2.2

0.5

-6.5

Romania

32.7

38.3

34.2

32.2

37.9

33.9

30.7

33.4

31.1

32.5

Slovenia

31.7

16.9

2.7

32.8

9.9

7.5

-10.7

38.8

41.3

22.5

Slovakia

6.8

1.7

-2.2

12.5

-1.6

-5.1

0.1

15.0

11.3

11.5

Finland

12.4

8.7

9.1

c

12.4

13.2

3.1

8.2

14.5

c

Sweden

-0.7

14.3

5.4

6.8

0.1

2.1

14.3

-2.6

0.9

23.2

United Kingdom

2.6

2.3

2.7

3.4

7.7

2.3

-2.0

3.7

8.7

-1.7

Building

Q2-07

Q3-07

Q4-07

Q1-08

Oct-07

Nov-07

Dec-07

Jan-08

Feb-08

Mar-08

EA15

2.3

1.7

-0.8

0.9

3.2

-1.8

-4.2

2.5

4.6

-2.1

EU27

2.9

2.5

0.2

2.0

3.6

-0.6

-2.4

3.0

5.5

-0.8

Civil engineering

Q2-07

Q3-07

Q4-07

Q1-08

Oct-07

Nov-07

Dec-07

Jan-08

Feb-08

Mar-08

EA15

3.6

1.5

-1.8

1.1

1.4

-1.2

-6.2

1.6

3.0

1.3

EU27

3.9

2.3

0.3

2.8

4.9

0.5

-4.9

1.4

5.0

4.2

* Working day adjusted
: Data not available
c Confidential

Monthly production indices for total construction, seasonally adjusted
(base year 2000)

03/07

04/07

05/07

06/07

07/07

08/07

09/07

10/07

11/07

12/07

01/08

02/08

03/08

EA15

110.4

107.2

107.4

106.8

107.9

107.4

107.0

108.8

106.8

106.6

109.2

121.2

108.5

EU27

113.1

110.6

110.4

110.4

111.1

111.0

111.2

113.1

110.8

111.3

112.9

115.8

112.8

BE 4

c

c

c

c

c

c

c

c

c

c

c

c

:

CZ

148.3

146.9

143.8

144.1

144.4

147.3

146.6

148.4

150.3

151.7

151.1

155.2

154.8

DK

111.3

114.6

114.1

115.2

114.9

114.6

115.0

111.4

111.9

110.8

115.8

114.4

:

DE

86.8

82.1

81.9

80.3

80.8

82.1

82.3

81.1

80.9

82.7

92.1

95.0

83.3

ES

136.4

130.4

130.9

128.5

130.6

129.0

126.5

130.4

125.0

124.0

122.5

124.0

121.9

FR

108.2

107.5

108.4

107.5

108.3

108.4

107.7

110.3

109.4

109.2

110.4

111.1

111.1

IT

c

c

c

c

c

c

c

c

c

c

c

c

c

LU

112.4

108.6

109.5

109.2

104.8

109.1

105.7

109.4

105.2

104.8

108.0

110.6

:

HU

149.1

139.8

145.6

131.6

131.7

129.9

121.0

125.3

120.7

122.7

115.8

122.7

:

NL

102.4

102.9

102.0

101.9

103.3

104.7

102.9

104.3

103.8

102.6

107.5

107.5

105.8

AT

138.9

137.2

136.3

136.7

135.6

135.9

130.9

133.2

131.2

134.0

137.7

141.9

:

PL

107.3

107.9

106.5

104.3

109.0

110.5

106.9

110.4

112.7

118.4

111.9

117.4

119.1

PT

76.5

75.7

77.1

76.2

77.9

77.4

75.1

77.3

76.5

76.4

76.0

77.5

119.1

RO

190.3

208.9

210.8

215.5

222.4

229.0

234.7

241.4

244.4

248.9

267.2

255.4

243.0

SI

149.6

152.6

167.4

155.3

155.0

159.0

153.7

159.7

153.4

136.8

206.6

208.6

183.2

SK

164.3

167.0

164.0

160.0

162.9

159.4

164.6

155.9

156.9

165.3

193.7

190.7

184.1

FI

139.6

140.5

139.9

136.0

137.2

138.1

140.5

143.7

144.7

143.4

148.6

155.8

c

SE

115.1

115.5

115.5

117.8

118.1

119.4

126.8

120.3

121.7

125.6

122.3

124.2

130.5

UK

121.8

117.6

119.4

126.1

122.4

125.0

117.7

132.0

119.0

118.2

121.2

130.8

119.0

Quarterly production indices for total construction, seasonally adjusted
(base year 2000)

Q2-06

Q3-06

Q4-06

Q1-07

Q2-07

Q3-07

Q4-07

Q1-08

EA15

104.0

104.6

108.5

108.6

106.9

107.3

107.2

109.7

EU27

106.8

108.1

111.4

111.5

110.4

111.0

107.2

113.5

BE 4

c

c

c

c

c

c

c

:

BG

262.8

280.8

287.0

293.5

306.6

321.5

351.9

:

CZ

138.4

144.3

145.5

147.5

144.9

146.1

150.1

153.7

DK

104.7

113.7

125.2

110.0

114.7

114.8

111.3

:

DE

82.0

83.7

85.2

88.0

81.4

81.7

81.6

90.1

EE

241.8

250.7

249.0

255.2

259.3

264.4

272.6

:

IE

133.9

129.6

150.5

127.2

137.6

123.4

128.4

c

EL

68.7

76.1

78.3

86.0

83.0

93.8

88.6

:

ES

129.2

130.6

132.0

132.7

130.0

128.7

126.4

122.8

FR

104.0

104.5

107.0

107.5

107.8

108.1

109.6

110.9

IT

122.4

122.3

128.5

130.6

128.0

130.1

129.7

c

CY

126.9

126.4

128.5

131.3

135.6

136.0

138.4

:

LV

195.0

200.7

207.1

217.5

224.0

228.5

221.1

:

LT

230.9

249.3

264.0

280.0

288.9

297.7

303.4

321.4

LU

107.2

109.4

111.0

113.5

109.1

106.5

106.5

:

HU

151.9

159.7

159.0

152.5

139.0

127.5

122.9

:

MT

127.6

127.9

129.8

129.2

129.0

131.4

132.0

:

NL

96.6

97.5

99.3

100.8

102.3

103.6

103.6

107.0

AT

127.9

132.3

134.2

139.1

136.7

134.1

132.8

:

PL

91.6

96.4

102.9

106.3

106.2

108.8

113.8

116.1

PT

80.4

79.5

77.0

77.2

76.3

76.8

76.7

75.1

RO

159.6

168.2

176.9

192.8

211.7

228.7

244.9

255.2

SI

120.1

133.1

147.1

148.7

158.4

155.9

150.0

199.5

SK

155.7

162.3

163.9

167.5

163.7

162.3

159.4

189.5

FI

123.0

126.9

131.4

138.2

138.8

138.6

143.9

c

SE

112.3

112.5

115.5

117.9

116.3

121.4

122.5

125.7

UK

117.8

118.8

119.9

120.1

121.0

121.7

123.1

123.7

: Data not available
c Confidential

Monthly production indices for total construction, working day adjusted
(base year 2000)

03/05

03/06

03/07

04/07

05/07

06/07

07/07

08/07

09/07

10/07

11/07

12/07

01/08

02/08

03/08

EA15

93.0

97.1

108.0

108.3

113.1

115.8

112.9

91.0

117.2

120.3

115.6

102.8

91.7

99.5

106.6

EU27

96.1

99.2

109.6

109.7

114.2

118.1

114.5

99.9

120.1

124.4

118.4

110.1

97.5

105.1

109.4

BE 4

c

c

c

c

c

c

c

c

c

c

c

c

c

c

:

CZ

87.7

89.8

113.5

134.5

150.7

156.2

153.8

167.1

172.3

188.7

206.0

175.1

81.4

97.3

121.2

DK

86.4

94.4

99.6

103.5

107.1

111.1

120.0

120.8

123.3

117.1

119.3

119.2

114.8

108.3

:

DE

60.3

63.6

79.8

86.5

87.9

92.5

96.7

88.8

97.6

96.2

90.5

66.2

60.4

65.5

75.8

ES

116.2

112.6

127.8

136.0

127.3

129.0

130.3

115.8

135.4

128.5

127.6

159.5

105.6

116.2

114.9

FR

102.6

108.7

114.5

107.9

113.9

118.2

116.2

72.4

113.5

125.1

116.2

96.7

104.0

108.2

117.5

IT

c

c

c

c

c

c

c

c

c

c

c

c

c

c

c

LU

104.2

103.3

116.6

118.2

119.5

121.4

112.7

63.6

119.3

126.4

114.7

87.9

92.4

104.1

:

HU

105.9

121.1

118.3

122.8

144.0

148.8

146.5

143.7

149.8

154.5

148.5

172.7

71.3

76.1

:

NL

94.4

101.7

110.0

95.9

118.6

117.9

80.0

72.8

123.5

118.5

123.6

70.6

102.3

116.9

112.4

AT

94.8

105.4

116.6

120.9

132.4

145.8

149.8

141.4

151.0

157.5

157.8

163.5

81.1

96.5

:

PL

48.0

55.6

78.5

87.1

100.1

109.5

110.8

120.2

126.3

143.5

121.1

180.9

63.7

79.2

92.2

PT

91.5

87.9

81.0

74.8

80.5

76.7

79.0

67.9

74.5

80.3

78.7

72.1

77.1

75.9

75.7

RO

90.4

110.8

144.5

173.9

190.0

221.7

245.5

269.2

296.0

330.0

312.4

308.6

118.1

138.4

191.4

SI

89.7

90.6

125.1

136.2

171.0

166.3

166.1

174.2

181.3

206.8

175.4

140.2

123.1

138.6

153.2

SK

102.2

118.0

138.1

157.6

171.2

177.5

179.7

178.8

190.8

188.6

182.7

175.8

126.5

133.8

154.0

FI

96.3

104.1

118.7

121.4

139.3

150.1

133.5

147.0

159.3

167.8

149.9

171.9

110.7

124.6

c

SE

100.6

99.6

112.7

111.8

109.5

120.1

72.7

100.9

163.9

129.5

128.9

141.4

123.6

124.5

138.9

UK

115.3

112.9

118.0

113.9

115.7

122.1

118.6

121.1

114.1

128.0

115.4

114.6

118.1

127.5

116.0

Quarterly production indices for total construction, working day adjusted
(base year 2000)

Q2-06

Q3-06

Q4-06

Q1-07

Q2-07

Q3-07

Q4-07

Q1-08

EA15

109.5

105.1

113.8

97.7

112.4

107.0

112.9

98.6

EU27

110.6

108.7

117.3

101.4

114.0

111.4

117.7

103.5

BE 4

c

c

c

c

c

c

c

:

BG

256.0

299.7

375.5

209.0

294.1

302.0

458.4

:

CZ

142.5

166.0

181.5

94.3

147.2

164.3

189.8

100.0

DK

97.3

119.9

132.8

103.5

107.2

121.3

118.5

:

DE

89.6

96.3

87.7

65.4

89.0

94.3

84.2

67.3

EE

253.0

291.3

252.5

199.0

271.1

305.0

276.0

:

IE

135.4

133.3

151.9

121.1

139.1

127.0

129.2

c

EL

73.3

79.3

97.6

73.8

88.5

97.9

105.4

:

ES

130.5

128.8

145.0

121.8

130.7

127.1

138.7

112.1

FR

109.5

97.1

109.9

106.4

113.3

100.6

112.6

109.9

IT

130.6

112.7

134.0

123.4

136.3