Private, public spending lift construction outlays WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Construction spending rebounded in February as both public and private outlays increased, bolstering views of faster economic growth in the first quarter. Construction spending advanced 1.2 percent to an annual rate of $885.1 billion, the Commerce Department said on Monday. Economists polled by Reuters had expected construction spending to rise 1 percent in February. The construction report added to a series of other data that have suggested economic growth accelerated in the first quarter from the fourth quarter's anemic 0.4 percent annual pace. Despite tighter fiscal policy, data on employment, consumer spending and factory activity have been relatively strong, leaving economists scrambling to raise their forecast. First-quarter GDP growth estimates currently range as high as a 3.5 percent annual rate. However, state and local spending, which is far larger than federal projects, rose 1.1 percent. Reporting By Lucia Mutikani; Editing by Neil Stempleman