Economic conditions for businesses in Australia improved during April, according to the results of a new survey.

The National Australia Business Bank's (NAB) monthly survey witnessed a seven point increase in its index to minus ten last month, while its employment measure grew by 11 points to minus 10.

Any figure below zero indicates a pessimistic view; however, the index has not reached this level since late 2008 when the global economic downturn had yet to unveil its full ferocity.

Alan Oyster, senior economist at the NAB, claimed that these results are encouraging for Australia's businesses.

He said: "While it is perhaps unwise to put too much emphasis on one month's results, the April survey does seem to point to a stabilization of confidence at levels around those reported in late 2008."

This is the second unexpected piece of economic news Australia has benefited from in the past seven days, with the publication of official employment figures revealing that the number of jobs increased by 27,000 in April.© Adfero Ltd