Is the recession over?

The recession has come to an end after businesses confidence in the UK showed marked signs of recovery, a new report has claimed.

According to the Institute of Chartered Accountants, this quarter marks the largest improvement since the poll began in 2003, with confidence jumping from -28.2 to 4.8 points.

Due to the findings, the group has claimed that output is likely to now increase by 0.5 per cent this quarter.

The UK is currently in its fifth consecutive quarter of recession, after the economy declined 0.8 per cent between April and June.

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Chief executive of the group Michael Izza said: "While there is no doubt that the UK economy is on its way to recovery, we shouldn’t underestimate the challenges ahead for businesses."

George Derbyshire, chief executive of the National Federation of Enterprise Agencies, recently claimed that optimism was a positive sign but that the threat of further unemployment could still impact the UK’s recovery.