Figures released by the British Retail Consortium reveal that consumer confidence jumped to its highest level in the last 18 months in October, though labour market is still down.

The BRC consumer confidence index jumped to 75 points in October, representing a gain of 10 points on the all-time low of 65 in April. However, the index is still much below levels recorded two-three years ago.

Justin Sargent, MD of market analyst Nielsen, said, "This latest poll shows that the confidence of the nation continues to improve."

But, those who believe that job prospects are 'not so good' to those who think job prospects are 'bad' shows 77 per cent are still feeling negative and that is more than 66 per cent in April.

Sentiment regarding personal finances improved marginally. But, debt remained Britons' main concern. 15 per cent of the surveyed agreed that debt was their main worry, up from 10 per cent last year.