Although the UK may be starting to emerge from the recession, there are still tough times ahead, it has been suggested.

UK economist at BNP Paribas Alan Clarke predicts that times of economic boom may be a long way off, especially as gross domestic product (GDP) growth continued to struggle.

"I don’t think GDP growth is going to get far above zero and that is because there are still a lot of headwinds, not least because of overhangs of the credit crunch," he continued.

Growth may also be inhibited by fiscal tightening and higher taxes, Mr Clarke suggested, with unemployment also likely to increase.

A lack of government spending may further impact the UK economy as a whole, he added.

The CIPS/Markit Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) for the service sector shows that July saw services activity grow at its fastest pace since February 2008.

The July figure of 53.2 shows continuous growth in the sector, up from last month’s 51.6 – and having slowed down in June – the PMI recovered in July and gave its best reading for many months.