France's construction sector remained deep in contraction territory in May, albeit with a slight improvement in the rate of decline of new construction work and overall business activity, S&P Global said Thursday.
The S&P Global France Construction PMI Total Activity Index climbed to 39.6 in May from 38.1 in April. The reading still points to a sharp contraction in output, marking one of the steepest declines since the pandemic.
Contraction in the euro area's construction sector eased in May as the decline in new orders and input cost inflation both softened, S&P Global said Thursday.The S&P Global Eurozone Construction PMI Total Activity Index improved to 43.7 from 41.7 in April, signaling a softer but still sharp deterioration in the bloc's construction activity.
Spain's industrial production, adjusted for seasonal and calendar effects, grew 2% year over year in April, following a revised 1.9% increase in March, provisional data from the National Statistics Institute showed Thursday.The latest reading matched the consensus estimate for the month.On a monthly basis, Spanish industrial output fell 0.4%, against the 2.3% growth previously.
Switzerland's seasonally adjusted unemployment rate increased 3.1% in May from 3% a month ago, according to data from the State Secretariat for Economic Affairs published Thursday.At the end of May, 144,652 individuals were registered as unemployed, up by 2,583 from a month ago.