The 6.9% in the Euro area is due to civil engineering rising by 10.1% and building construction by 6.2%. In the EU28, the 4.4% increase comes from civil engineering rising by 5.5% and building construction by 4.0%. However, the figures show UK output falling by 1.6%.

The initial estimates from Eurostat, the statistical office of the European Union, also record that output increased by 7.1% in the Euro area and by 5.2% in the EU28 compared to February 2016.

In January, output had fallen by 2.4% across the 19 countries of the Eurozone (EU19) and by 1.5% in the EU28.

In terms of the month-on-month increase, the highest increases were recorded in Slovenia (+25.7%), Belgium (+18.7%) and Germany (+13.6%), while the largest decreases were observed in Poland (-2.8%), Sweden (-1.8%), and the United Kingdom (-1.6%).

The annual increase of 7.1% in the Euro area in February 2017, compared with February 2016, is due to civil engineering rising by 10.3% and building construction by 6.2%. In the EU28, the increase of 5.2% is due to civil engineering rising by 5.6% and building construction by 4.8%.

Among Member States with available data, the highest increases were recorded in Slovenia (+21.4%), Hungary (+15.1%), Sweden (+13.2%) and Germany (+11.6%), while the largest decreases were observed in Slovakia (-10.6%), the Czech Republic (-5.5%) and Poland (-5.1%).