LONDON: Britain’s economy grew faster than previously thought in the opening months of this year, according to estimates from the Office for National Statistics, after it emerged that the construction sector had a better start to 2015 than feared.
The ONS now says construction was not such a big drag on the wider economy in the first quarter of 2015. As a result, economic growth was probably 0.4% rather than the 0.3% previously estimated, barring any changes to estimates for other sectors.
That still marks a slowdown from 0.6% growth estimated for the previous quarter, but overall the new figures paint a brighter picture of construction and the wider economy.
The latest official estimates for GDP growth will not be released until 30 June. But a stronger performance from the construction sector could mean growth last year is revised up to 2.9% from the 2.8% previously reported, the ONS said. It was forced to apologise after incorrectly stating alongside the construction statistics that revisions for the sector could take annual GDP growth to an even higher 3.1%.
The ONS has changed the way it calculates price changes in the construction sector and the way it adjusts its data for seasonal factors such as the timing of public holidays. With previously unseen data included as well, the ONS now estimates construction output fell just 0.2% in the first quarter, rather than by 1.1% as previously estimated.
This upward revision of growth of 0.9% provides an upwards revision of 0.1 percentage points to the growth rate of GDP,” the ONS said.
