Spain, the second country in the EU where construction production rose the most
Spain was the second country in the European Union (EU) where the production of the construction sector rose the most in March 2018 compared to the same month the previous year. In total, it grew by 17%, only behind Poland (19%) and well above the Eurozone average, which stood at 0.8%. The EU countries as a whole fell 1.3% year-on-year in the third month of the year.
Spain also registers values well above the third with the highest growth in year-on-year terms, which is Slovakia with an increase of 5%. Compared to March 2017, the countries that registered the biggest drops in production were Romania, with a decrease of 11%, the United Kingdom with 8% less and France with a fall of 2.5%.
The values of the 0.8% increase in the Eurozone were driven by the 2.4% increase in building construction, which contrasts with the 4.2% drop in civil engineering works in March. For its part, the European Union registered a decrease of 1.3% due to falls both in civil engineering works of 4.4% and in the construction of buildings (0.8%).
Spain the fastest growing compared to February
Regarding growth in monthly terms, Spain was positioned as the country in which the production of the construction sector increased the most in March 2018 compared to the figures of February of the same year, with an increase of 3%. Countries such as Slovakia follow with 2.3% and Belgium with 1%. Most of the countries registered negative values.
Among the Member States, the main decreases in the sector occurred in Hungary (10.3% drop), Romania with a 9.2% drop and France with 2.6% less than the previous month. The decrease of 0.3% in construction in the Eurozone in March compared to February was due to the decrease of 0.3% in the construction of buildings and 0.2% in civil engineering works. For its part, in the whole of the European Union there was a decrease of 1% due to falls of 1% in the construction of buildings and 0.7% in civil engineering.
Source: ElPaís
