Seasonally adjusted production in the European construction sector rose by 0.5 percent in the euro area (EA17) and by 0.4 percent in the EU28 in August compared with July, according to first estimates from Eurostat. In July 2013, production in construction rose by 0.7 percent and 1.3 percent, respectively.

Compared with August 2012, August production in construction decreased by 4.7 percent in the euro area and by 2.5 percent in the EU28. Among the Member States for which data are available for August 2013, production in construction rose in seven and fell in eight.

The highest increases were observed in Portugal (up 10.8 percent), Sweden (up 4.8 percent), Hungary (up 4 percent) and Italy (up 3.4 percent), and the largest decreases in the Czech Republic (down 3.6 percent), Slovenia (down 2.8 percent), Germany (down 1.9 percent) and Poland (down 1.6 percent).

Building construction fell by 0.1 percent in both the euro area and in the EU28, after increasing 1.1 percent and 1.6 percent, respectively, in July. Civil engineering rose by 0.9 percent in the euro area and by 1 percent in the EU28, after decreasing 0.3 percent and increasing 0.4 percent, respectively, in the previous month.  

In an annual comparison among the Member States for which data are available for August, production in construction fell in nine and rose in six. The largest decreases were registered in Portugal (down 12.8 percent), Italy (down 10.6 percent), Bulgaria (down 9.5 percent) and Poland (down 8.9 percent), and the highest increases in Hungary (up 14.6 percent), Romania (up 8.9 percent), Spain (up 7 percent) and Sweden (up 5 percent).

Building construction decreased by 4.3 percent in the euro area and by 1.4 percent in the EU28, after decreasing 1.8 percent and 0.5 percent, respectively, in July. Civil engineering fell by 7.4 percent in the euro area and by 7.3 percent in the EU28, after decreasing 3.6 percent and 3.3 percent, respectively, in the previous month.