What conversations are you having at work, at home, in the pub? There’s plenty to talk about, from Traitors (BBC good?) to trust in public broadcasting (BBC bad?) to say nothing of football, Remembrance Day, the weather and Christmas.

Looking beyond these topics, is it possible to discern the national mood? Do we feel that we’re on the up, or is there a sense that we’re just muddling through? I dare say there are some people, places, companies and sectors where the mood is more buoyant, but it’s hard to escape the drumbeat of negative news.

Anecdotes can break through, but the numbers tell their own story. Unemployment has risen every........

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