22 July 2020, 13:38
Down by 11.9% and 10.3% compared with May 2019
In May 2020, when Member States began easing the COVID-19 containment measures, the seasonally adjusted production in the construction sector rose by 27.9% in the euro area and by 21.2% in the EU, compared with April 2020, according to first estimates from Eurostat, the statistical office of the European Union. In April 2020, production in construction fell by 18.3% in the euro area and by 14.9% in the EU.
In May 2020 compared with May 2019, production in construction decreased by 11.9% in the euro area and by 10.3% in the EU.
Monthly comparison by construction sector and by Member State
In the euro area in May 2020, compared with April 2020, civil engineering increased by 28.5% and building construction by 27.6%.
In the EU, civil engineering increased by 22.4% and building construction by 20.4%.
Among Member States for which data are available, the highest increases were recorded in Italy (+168.0%), France (+118.3%) and Belgium (+28.6%). The largest decreases wereobserved in Hungary (-20.3%), Poland (-3.1%)and Czechia (-2.9%).
Annual comparison by construction sector and by Member State
In the euro areain May 2020, compared with May 2019, building construction decreased by 13.2% and civil engineering by 5.1%.
In the EU, building construction decreased by 11.6% and civil engineering by 4.1%.
Among Member States for which data are available, the largest decreases in production in construction were observed in Spain (-24.4%), France (-24.0%) and Hungary (-20.1%). Increases were observed in Romania (+14.6%), Finland (+4.1%) and Germany (+1.7%).
Geographical information
The euro area (EA19) includes Belgium, Germany, Estonia, Ireland, Greece, Spain, France, Italy, Cyprus, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, Austria, Portugal, Slovenia, Slovakia and Finland.
The European Union (EU27) includes Belgium, Bulgaria, Czechia, Denmark, Germany, Estonia, Ireland, Greece, Spain, France, Croatia, Italy, Cyprus, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Hungary, Malta, the Netherlands, Austria, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovenia, Slovakia, Finland and Sweden. Estonia, Ireland, Greece, Cyprus, Latvia, Lithuania and Malta are not required to supply monthly data under Council Regulation 1165/98.
Methods and definitions
The index of production in construction approximates the evolution of the volume of production within the sector, broken down into building construction and civil engineering.
Seasonally adjusted euro area and EU series are calculated by aggregating the seasonally adjusted national data. Eurostat carries out the seasonal adjustment of the data for those countries that do not adjust their data for seasonal effects.
The monthly index as presented in this News Release is calculated only on the basis of the data of those countries reporting monthly data. Missing observations from Member States for recent months are estimated for the calculation of the euro area and the EU aggregates.
Revisions and timetable
Data of previous months have been revised compared with those issued in News Release 97/2020 of 17 June 2020. The monthly percentage change for April 2020 was revised from -14.6% to -18.3% in the euro area and from -11.7% to -14.9% in the EU. The annual percentagechange has been revised from -28.4% to -31.0% in the euro area and from -24.0% to -26.0% in the EU.
Source: CECE