Seasonally adjusted production in the construction sector grew by 1.6% in the euro-zone and by 1.7% in the EU25 in the second quarter of 2005, compared to the previous quarter, according to preliminary figures recently released by Eurostat. In the first quarter of 2005, production fell
by 1.9% in the euro-zone and by 1.3% in the EU25.
In the second quarter of 2005, compared to the second quarter of 2004, output dropped by 0.3% in the euro-zone,
but rose by 0.4% in the EU25, after decreases of 3.6% and 3.0% respectively in the first quarter of 2005.
Among the Member States for which data are available for the second quarter of 2005, production in construction
rose in sixteen Member States and fell only in Portugal (-0.6%). The most significant increases were recorded in
Estonia (+11.7%), Slovenia (+10.1%), Poland (+8.9%) and Slovakia (+8.1%).
Building construction increased by 1.3% in the euro-zone and by 1.8% in the EU25, after falls of 1.4% and 0.8%
respectively during the first quarter of 2005. Civil engineering grew by 1.9% in the euro-zone and by 0.4% in the
EU25, after decreases of 2.7% and 1.2% respectively in the previous quarter.
In the second quarter of 2005, among the Member States for which data are available, production in construction
rose in twelve Member States and fell in five. The largest increases were recorded in Slovakia (+20.7%), Estonia
(+15.9%), Latvia (+15.8%) and Hungary (+15.6%). Germany (-6.9%), Portugal (-6.7%) and the Czech Republic
(-3.1%) registered the most significant falls.
Building construction fell by 0.7% in the euro-zone, but rose by 0.5% in the EU25, after decreases of 3.6% and
2.6% respectively in the first quarter of 2005. Civil engineering increased by 0.3% in the euro-zone, but dropped by
1.3% in the EU25 after falls of 4.6% and 6.1% respectively in the preceding quarter. |