Strong order books for French and German firms have boosted employment growth in the eurozone to its highest level in a decade.

IHS Markit’s composite purchasing managers index (PMI), in which any reading above 50 suggests growth, showed France's private sector was in rude health in October, with a score of 57.5, up from 57.1 in the previous month and the highest reading for more than six years.

Germany's was slightly lower, at 56.9, down on the past two months, but businesses there are still picking up new orders at a strong rate, also the best seen in six years. This has resulted in job creation hitting a new five month high.

As the eurozone's largest economies, the two countries drove the general expansion in the bloc, with the rate of growth in business activity for the rest of the countries slowing to its weakest level for a year.

The composite PMI for the eurozone softened slightly in October, falling from from 56.7 to 55.9, but it remained at a level that implies solid economic growth, as hiring in manufacturing reached its highest level for twenty years.