LONDON: The UK economy last year grew significantly faster than has been estimated – and that goes for the start of this year as well, according to the official statistics body.
Britain’s economic growth in 2014 will be closer to 3.1 per cent rather than 2.8 per cent, according to the Office for National Statistics, after it announced changed the way it measures the construction sector.
The ONS also said growth in the first this year was likely to be 0.4 per cent rather than 0.3 per cent, after construction output was revised to a 0.2 per cent fall, much less than the 1.1 per cent decline previously reported for the January-March period.
Revisions to GDP data will be confirmed on June 30. These will take into account the construction revisions but also any revisions there may have been to data from other parts of the economy.
‘The UK economic upturn over the past year has been stronger than previously thought after substantial data revisions show that the construction sector has not acted as such a drag on the economy,’ Chris Williamson, chief economist at Markit, said.
‘The revisions bring the economy’s performance more into line with recent survey evidence.’
The ONS has changed the way it calculates price changes in the construction sector and its method for seasonal adjustments to the data.
In the month of April, the ONS said construction output fell by 0.8 per cent from March when it had risen by 1.4 per cent.
Compared with a year earlier, construction output rose 1.5 per cent, slowing from a rise of 5.0 per cent in March. Construction makes up 6.4 per cent of Britain’s economy.
