Data published by Eurostat showed that in December the construction output increased by 1.9% per year, offsetting the November drop (-1.9%, revised from -2.2%). This was the sharpest increase since February 2023. Economists had expected a decrease of 2.3% per annum. On a monthly basis, the volume of construction rose by 0.8% after falling 0.4% in November. Meanwhile, among the EU countries, the volume of construction increased by 1.3% m/m and by 2.4% per annum. The annual average production in construction for the year 2023, compared with 2022, increased by 0.2% in the euro area and by 0.1% in the EU.
In the euro area, building construction grew by 1.1% m/m, while civil engineering fell by 0.6% m/m. In the EU, building construction increased by 1.4% m/m, while civil engineering decreased by 1.1% m/m.
Compared with December 2022, building construction in the euro area increased by 1.3%, and civil engineering increased by 4.7%. In the EU, building construction increased by 1.1% and civil engineering increased by 4.1%.
Among Member States, the highest annual increases in production in construction were recorded in Romania (+30.7%), Poland (+18.9%) and Belgium (+10.7%). The largest decreases were observed in Slovakia (-10.4%), Austria (-8.7%) and Sweden (-6.1%).