According to Eurostat, the EU office of statistics, production in the Spanish construction sector dropped by 5.5% in March compared with the previous month, a sharper drop than anywhere else in the European Union.

Furthermore, Spain's year on year comparisons were the worst in the EU, with a 20.3% decline in production in the sector compared with March 2008.

Across the Eurozone, production in the building sector was 1% lower in March than in February and 2.1% lower across the EU as a whole.

Other countries with major decreases in building production compared with last year are Sweden with a 17.7% drop and the United Kingdom with a 15.2% drop.

The construction sector looks a lot healthier in Germany, where it saw a 7.6% increase, in Portugal with a 3.8% increase and in Rumania with a 1.7% increase on the previous month's figures.