German construction orders at medium and large firms fell 7.8 percent in January compared with the same month a year earlier, Federal Statistics Office data showed on Wednesday. Employment was also down 51,000 from a year earlier at 737,000, but total turnover was up 1.6 percent year on year at 4.027 billion euros. Germany's construction industry has been in recession since the country's post-unification building boom ended in 1995, dragging down growth in the overall economy. The country's ZDB construction association is due to present its latest outlook for the sector at 1000 GMT on Wednesday.|||