U.S. 4th-quarter growth revised to 2.8% from 3.2% (by Jeffry Bartash)

WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) - The U.S. economy grew at 2.8% pace in the final three months of 2010 based on new data showing that consumers and state and local governments spent less than originally estimated. Last month, the Commerce Department said gross domestic product climbed at a 3.2% annual rate in the fourth quarter. Economists surveyed by MarketWatch had expected revised GDP to remain at 3.2%. While consumer spending underpinned growth in the fourth quarter, the government now says it rose 4.1%, down from a previously reported 4.4%. Spending by state and local governments, meanwhile, dropped 2.4% instead of the initial estimate of a 0.9% decline. Spending by government at all levels fell 1.5% in the fourth quarter, down from 0.5% in the first reading of GDP.