Sector鈥檚 quarter-on-quarter contraction blamed for dip in overall GDP growth
UK economic growth slowed to 0.3% in the first quarter of 2015, with a fall in construction output partly blamed for the slowdown.
The UK economy previously grew by 0.6% over the fourth quarter of 2014, according to the Office of National Statistics (ONS).
The slowdown over the first three months of this year was partly attributed to a decline in construction output of 1.6% over the period.
The much larger services sector increased output by 0.5% over the first quarter, while production and agriculture output both fell, by 0.1% and 0.2% respectively.
A more detailed analysis of the data contained better news for construction. The ONS said the sector grew by 5.3% month-on-month in March - its first estimate of output growth for the month - suggesting construction output may be on the rebound after declines in output of 0.9% in February and 2.5% in January.
The ONS said the overall GDP figures represented a year-on year rise of 2.4% on the first quarter 2014.
It cautioned that the latest data was preliminary and 鈥渟ubject to revision鈥�.
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