Delayed Recovery – Downward Trend Continues for the European Construction Market

The European construction sector remains stagnant. This is due to the slowdown of the European economy and an adverse macroeconomic environment. Currently, no signs for a recovery of the sector can be detected for the 19 European countries that were analysed by the Euroconstruct network at the 72nd Euroconstruct conference in Paris in November 2011. For 2012, construction output is expected to decline slightly (–0.3 percent) – so that the construction industry will shrink for the fifth year in a row. The construction growth path varies considerably among the 19 countries: on the one hand, Portugal, Spain, the UK and Ireland are still severely affected by the aftermath of the financial and economic crisis and the imbalances of their real estate markets. The Nordic countries on the other hand are set on a stable course of recovery. For the Austrian construction sector, a slow but positive development is expected till 2014.