The euro zone’s service sector has grown at its fastest pace in two years this month. November’s figures show an improvement of 0.8 per cent since October. The data is compiled by surveying about 2,000 service-providing companies in Europe that range from banks, to cafes and restaurants.

These encouraging figures suggest an overall recovery for Europe’s economy in the fourth quarter of 2009. There is also good news on manufacturing for the two largest economies in Europe. Rising output has helped Germany to expand in this sector for the second month in a row. In France, though growth was slower than in October, manufacturing also continued to rise. However, it is not all good news. The German Finance Ministry say they expect GDP to slow in the final quarter of the year. Michael Hüther, Director of the Institute of German Economy warned: “There is always a potential danger to the economy. Recovery plans were a good response to the crisis, but we still can’t say whether they can generate stable growth. These are the risks for 2010” Manufacturing does play a significant role in the German economy – it is still the world biggest exporter. Growth in manufacturing is also part of continuing recovery in the French private sector.More about: Eurozone

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