Eustat

Press release 23/02/2010

CONSTRUCTION INDEX (ICC) 4th QUARTER 2009

The construction sector in the Basque Country fell by 15.4% in the fourth quarter of 2009

Building was down by 18.8%, while Civil Works dropped by 9.3%

Construction in the Basque Country registered a year-on-year nominal downturn of 15.4% in the fourth quarter of 2009, in homogeneous terms of the working calendar, according to EUSTAT data. The decrease for 2009 as a whole was down by 12.9% with respect to the previous year.

Once corrected for seasonal effects, the construction sector slowed down by 2.6% in the fourth quarter of 2009 compared to the third quarter of the same year.

The drop in the construction sector, in the fourth quarter of 2009, was mainly due to the negative performance of the Building sub-sector, which registered a year-on-year downturn of 18.8%, compared to the more moderate fall (9.3%) posted by Civil Works. The overall decrease in 2009 with respect to 2008 posted by Building came to 16.25, while Civil Works fell by 6.8%.



In quarter-on-quarter terms, if the activity of the sector in the fourth quarter of 2009 is compared to the previous quarter, the Building sub-sector performed negatively (4.7%), while Civil Works posted positive growth (1.0%).

In the fourth quarter of 2009, employment in the construction sector registered a downturn of 1.6% compared to the third quarter of the same year and was down by 7.4% with respect to the same quarter of the previous year.

For further information:

Basque Statistics Office
C/ Donostia-San Sebastián, 1 01010 Vitoria-Gasteiz
Tlf:+34-945-01 75 00 Fax:+34-945-01 75 01 E-mail: eustat@eustat.es
Contact: Gerardo Pérez Aja
T el:+34-945-01 75 06 F ax:+34-945-01 75 01
Online press releases: www.eustat.es
Databank: www.eustat.es/bancopx/english/indice.asp