Brussels, 18/09/2008 (Agence Europe) - In July 2008, production in the construction sector was up by 0.1% in the eurozone and by 0.2% in the EU27, compared to one month earlier, when it had fallen by 0.9% and 0.7% respectively. Compared to the same period of 2007, production was down in July 2008 by 3.3% in the eurozone and by 1.5% in the EU27, according to Eurostat figures published on Wednesday 17 September.
At a monthly rate, production in construction increased in ten member states, mainly in Bulgaria (+5.3%), Portugal (+3.6%), Slovenia (+2.9%) and the Netherlands (+2.6%) but fell in three, the United Kingdom (-2.7%), Germany (-2.0%) and Spain (-0.7%). The building sector remained stable in the eurozone and increased by 0.1% in the EU27, while civil engineering was down by 0.6% in the eurozone but progressed by 0.8% in the EU27.
At an annual rate, the findings are almost the same. Production in construction increased in ten member states including Romania (+28.4%), Slovenia (+17.9%), Bulgaria (+16.4%) and Poland (+16.1%) but declined in three others, Spain (-15.9%), Germany (-2.3%) and Portugal (-1.4%). The building sector declined by 3.3% in the eurozone and by 1.8% in the EU27 and civil engineering also fell by 4.0% and 0.3% respectively. (A.B./transl.jl)