The UK is finding it harder to recover from the recession than many EU countries. The UK’s Office for National Statistics says its economy dipped by 0.4 per cent of gross domestic product between July and September – analysts had been predicting a rise of 0.2 per cent.

The news is also negative for Spain: more than four million people are currently out of work there – badly affected by the construction industry’s nose-dive when the economic crisis first took hold. The Spanish unemployment rate is still at 17.9 per cent, the highest among EU member states.

Consumers in France showed increased confidence between August and September – household consumption there climbed 2.3 per cent. France and Germany had recorded positive growth back in the second quarter of this year.

Fresh data from the EU statistics office show that industrial new orders rose an average of 1.2 per cent across the 27-member bloc in August, although there were highs and lows among the member states: the highest increases were in Slovakia (up 11.8 per cent), the Czech Republic (+3.2 per cent) and France (up three per cent). Declines were recorded in Ireland (down 14.6 per cent), Poland (-10.6 per cent), Italy (-6.4 per cent) and the UK (down 0.3 per cent).