Eurozone Construction Output Falls the Most in 5 Months

Eurozone construction output dropped by 2% year-on-year in July 2026, the steepest decline since February, following an upwardly revised 1.4% decrease in June. Building activity continued to contract (-6.4% vs -7.4% in June), while specialised construction activities also remained under pressure (-1.6% vs -0.4%). Meanwhile, civil engineering rose by 0.6%, after being flat in the previous month. Among major economies, output fell in Spain (-9.7%), France (-5%) and Italy (-1.2%), but increased in Germany (1%). On a monthly basis, construction output was flat, after an upwardly revised 1.5% slump in June. In the broader European Union, construction activity shrank by 1.8% on a yearly basis and fell by 0.3% from the previous month.

Eurozone construction output declined 0.7% year-on-year in June 2026, following a downwardly revised 0.7% increase in May. The decline was mainly driven by continued weakness in building construction, which contracted 6.5%, although the pace of decline eased from 7.5% in the previous month. Growth also slowed sharply in civil engineering (0.3% vs 3.5%) and specialized construction activities (0.2% vs 2.4%). Construction activity fell most sharply in France (-4.5% vs -0.7%) and Belgium (-4.1% vs 1.8%), while output in Spain declined 8.5%, easing from a 12.8% contraction in May. On a monthly basis, construction output fell 1.3%, reversing a 0.2% increase in May.

Eurozone construction output increased by 1.2% year-on-year in May 2026, marking the highest level in seven months, following a downwardly revised 0.2% gain in the previous month. The improvement was driven primarily by a sharp acceleration in specialized construction activities, which rose 2.9% after a 0.6% gain in the previous month. Meanwhile, growth in civil engineering eased slightly to 3.5% from 3.7%, while building construction remained under pressure, with output falling 6.6% after a 4.9% decline in April. Construction activity expanded mostly in Austria, rising 3.0% after a 2.4% contraction, while growth strengthened in Germany (3.5% vs. 0.7%) and Poland (6.1% vs. 4.6%). On a monthly basis, construction output rose by 0.4% in May, accelerating from a downwardly revised 0.1% increase in the previous month.