Decline in the construction industry in Europe hits a 16-month record low

In June, the construction sector in the EU and the Eurozone reported a significant decline again, Eurostat data shows. During the sixth month of the year, construction activities in the Eurozone fell by 1.8% on a monthly basis and by 11.3% year-on-year. Across the EU the decline was by by 1.3% in June, compared to May, registering a decrease of 8.1% on an annual basis. The decline in all the 27 EU member-states and the single monetary union hit a 16-month record low.

In the countries using the Euro, the sector reported an increase of 0.1% in May and the levels in the EU remained stable, suggesting a breath of optimism. Data for June, however, again cast a shadow regarding recovery in Europe. Eurostat experts reported that among the EU member-states it had data for for June 2011, construction output fell in seven countries and rose in six, compared to May. Statistics confirmed that the monthly growth rates reported had not become a tendency yet and businesses continued to encounter problems and uncertainty. In June, the most serious problems were faced in the construction sector in Slovenia (-11.9%), Hungary (-5.5%) and Germany (-4.5%). The largest growth was registered in the United Kingdom (3.8%), Slovakia (2.0%) and Portugal (1.7%). Construction of buildings reported a decrease by 1% in the Eurozone and by 1.4% in the EU27, after rising by 0.3% in both areas in May. Civil construction slowed down by 2.7% in the Eurozone and by 0.8% in the EU27.

Against this background, the figures for Bulgaria seem optimistic – the output in the construction sector fell by 0.5%, compared to May when it reported an increase of 4.9%. Compared to the same month of last year, the decline was 2.6%, registering the lowest drop since the beginning of 2011, Eurostat reported.

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