By William Schomberg and Paul Sandle
LONDON (Reuters) - Britain's economic growth rate last year and in early 2015 looks to have been stronger than previously estimated after the country's statistics office revised the way it measured the construction sector.
The pace of growth in gross domestic product in 2014 could rise to 2.9 percent from a previous reading of 2.8 percent due to the changes in the construction data, the Office for National Statistics said on Friday.
In the first three months of 2015, quarterly GDP growth would be 0.4 percent, up from a previous estimate of 0.3 percent, assuming no further changes to data covering other areas of the economy such as the far bigger services sector.
A new reading of GDP is due on June 30. Construction makes up 6.4 percent of Britain's economy.
The ONS changed the way it calculates price changes and its method for seasonal adjustments in the construction data.
It also said the increase in GDP last year might be affected by changes to estimates of expenditure and income.
Separately on Friday, a Bank of England policymaker said the time for an increase in interest rates was getting closer, given the recovery in the economy.
The ONS said construction output in the first quarter was revised to show a fall of 0.2 percent, a milder decline than a fall of 1.1 percent previously reported.
In April, construction output fell by 0.8 percent from March when it had risen by 1.4 percent.
Economists said April's data was probably affected by uncertainty about the outcome of May's national elections.
An industry survey published last week showed confidence among construction firms hit a nine-year high in May after Prime Minister David Cameron's Conservative Party won the elections with an unexpected parliamentary majority.
The country's economy slowed sharply in the first three months of this year and the weakness in the construction sector was one of the drags on the growth rate. The Bank of England has cited a weaker outlook for house-building as a reason for its lower overall growth forecasts for Britain's economy.
Friday's data showed house-building in April rose by 5.4 percent from March after falling by a revised 2.0 percent in the first quarter, the biggest quarterly drop in nearly three years.
(This story changes impact on GDP growth in 2014 after ONS corrected its estimate, removes economists' reactions)