The government's statistics office is emphasising, however, that this is a minor recovery, due mainly to increased exports.

The bureau explains that while exports are up, consumers remain reluctant to spend on major purchases. Investments fell, and public expenditure went up.

Despite the upward trend, the number of jobs fell by 140,000 year-on-year, with temp jobs showing the greatest fall. These factors make the recovery vulnerable, a spokesperson for the office said.

The economies of neighbouring Germany and of France also grew in the past quarter, by 0.7 and 0.3 percent respectively. For the German and French economies it was the second growth quarter in a row.