Press Release 12/03/2019

CONSTRUCTION INDEX, IV/2018

Building drove the Construction sector in the Basque Country to 15.3% growth in the fourth quarter of 2018

The balance for 2018 closed with 12.5% growth, led by Building with 13.5%

Construction activity in the Basque Country registered a year-on-year nominal upturn of 15.3% in the fourth quarter of 2018, in homogeneous terms of the working calendar, according to EUSTAT data.

Once corrected for seasonal effects, the Construction sector was up by 3.7% in the fourth quarter of 2018 compared to the third quarter of the same year.

The increase in Construction sector in this quarter activity was due to the positive performance of the Building sub-sector, which experienced a year-on-year upturn of 17.3%, since the Civil Works sub-sector contracted by 1.0%.

In quarter-on-quarter terms, if the activity of the sector in the fourth quarter of 2018 is compared to the previous quarter, the Building subsector saw a 4.2% upturn, whereas the Civil Works subsector posted a decrease of 1.5%.

Employment in the Construction sector experienced an increase of 1.1% in the fourth quarter of 2018 compared to the third quarter of 2018.

Annual balance

In 2018 overall, the Construction Index posted a rise of 12.5% on the previous year, with positive performance in its two sub-sectors: Building rose by 13.5%, with larger increases than those in 2017, whilst Civil Works also saw positive rates, up 4.9% compared to 2017. Regarding employment, the index of employed people registered an increase of 4.3% in 2018, the highest since 2001.

For further information:

Eustat - Euskal Estatistika Erakundea / Basque Statistics Institute C/ Donostia-San Sebastián, 1 01010 Vitoria-Gasteiz Press Service: servicioprensa@eustat.es Tel: 945 01 75 62