GOOD news on the economy has been hard to find in recent years but there is finally cause for optimism with the welcome announcement that the longest double-dip recession in more than 60 years is finally over.

A one per cent increase in growth between July and September is a relief because the dark clouds of recession have affected us all. It is an opportunity to be positive and hope the improvement continues.

Indeed, the North East Chamber of Commerce tells us that businesses in the region are taking on staff at a rate not seen since 2008. That is great to hear.

But while it is important for newspapers to be positive, it would be irresponsible of us to get carried away.

It is desperately sad that a longawaited chink of light on the economy finally shone through on the day Ford announced the closure of two UK car factories with the loss of 1,400 jobs.

We must also take into account that the growth figure will have been boosted by the short-term effect of the London Olympics, and remember that the North-East’s dependence on European export markets make it particularly vulnerable to the fragility of the Eurozone.

There is a long way to go before we can say we are out of the woods and the continuing scale of public sector cuts remains a matter of serious concern.

But for now let’s settle for officially being out of recession because that headline news will inject confidence – and confidence lies at the heart of economic recovery.