Britain's economy is on track for a bounceback in the current quarter after the building industry's strongest growth for almost a year in February.
The latest Chartered Institute of Purchasing & Supply/Markit activity index - where a score over 50 signals growth - hit an 11-month high last month, led by a revival in commercial building.
Construction firms surprisingly escaped the impact of the oil price hikes which hit manufacturers in February, although the industry is still shedding jobs.
Markit's Sarah Bingham said: "The sharp increase in new business received should keep firms busy in the coming months."
The economy shrank 0.2% in the final three months of 2011, but the momentum in the building industry should contribute to overall growth, according to IHS Global Insight's Howard Archer.
He said: "While it needs to be borne in mind that the construction sector only accounts for 7.6% of total output, the data fuel hopes that the economy could well see expansion of around 0.5% in the
first quarter."
CIPS' survey of the UK's dominant services industry should give a clearer picture of economic prospects on Monday ahead of the Bank of England's policy meeting next week.
