The construction sector in the Eurozone continues to grow, with January marking the second consecutive month of expansion, as per the data released by Eurostat. While the growth rate remained steady at 0.5% for both December and January, different segments within the industry showed varied performance.
Specifically, civil engineering activities saw an increase of 1.0% and specialised construction activities rose by 0.5%. In contrast, building construction experienced a decline, falling by 2.1%.
Even though the total construction output witnessed year-over-year growth of 0.8%, the pace was slower than the 2.8% growth observed in the preceding month.
Meanwhile, the different member countries of the EU showed contrasting trends. The construction output for the entire EU27 group witnessed a decline of 1.0% on a monthly basis, and the annual growth rate notably reduced from 3.6% to 0.1%.
Within the EU states, significant decreases in construction output were recorded in Romania, Poland, and the Netherlands. Conversely, Hungary, Germany, and Sweden experienced the highest increases.
