Britain's construction sector showed the strongest sings of improvement last month in more than four years, according to fresh figures.

In March, the country enjoyed growth across all construction areas, viz. civil, commercial as well as housing. An overall improvement in market activity provided a strong boost to tenders and builders saw new orders closed rising at their sharpest pace since September 2007.

The Markit/Cips PMI (purchasing managers' index) showed construction output jumping from 54.3 February to 56.7 in March. It was the sharpest jump in the last twenty-one months.

It may be noted here that any reading above 50 implies expansion in the economy, while a reading blow that mark denotes contraction.

Commenting on the fresh figures, Barclays Capital's Blerina Uruci said, "Overall, [the construction] PMI survey provides something to cheer about regarding the performance of the UK economy in the first quarter of this year."

The latest Markit/Cips PMI for manufacturing sector also showed a expansion in the sector in March by posting a reading of 52.1.

The latest figures prompted most economists to predict that Britain's economy swung back to growth in the first three months of 2012, after contracting 0.3 per cent in the previous quarter.