Hooray, some good news. After 2009, which I think we will all admit was a tough year for everyone involved in finance, it looks like we’re now all feeling a little bit more optimistic. Not only has it been announced that the UK recession is officially over, but according to Smith & Williamson’s annual financial services survey, 39% of businesses surveyed last year felt more optimistic about the year ahead. OK so that figure could be better but it’s an improvement on the 23% from the previous year’s survey.

On a more positive note a huge 94% expected stable or increased sales over the course of 2010 and almost 90% feel confident about maintaining or increasing their recruitment activity – which is great news for us!

It seems that although all signs point to a gradual recovery throughout 2010, business are still cautious and don’t want to be too confident and tempt fate – after all the recovery isn’t in full swing yet. But we’re definitely seeing an improvement in conditions so let’s hope this continues.