UK construction output up

britain official statisticians say the construction industry's downturn in the first three months of the year was not as bad as first estimated.

the office for national statistics said friday that construction - a component of gross national product - was down 4 percent compared with the previous quarter. the first estimate had construction down 4.7 percent.

the agency says construction output was 3.6 percent higher than in the first quarter of 2010.

chris williamson, chief economist at markit, says the official figures are at odds with most other surveys of the industry. he notes that while housing and civil engineering work are lagging, commercial activity is holding up.

williamson says the industry is not as bad off as the official data suggest.