A main indicator of consumer and business sentiment in Europe rose more than expected on Thursday, while a public bank that finances private enterprise in ex-Communist countries raised its growth forecasts.

Assembly line workers at the car supplier FSG Automotive in Oelsnitz, Germany. The country’s unemployment rate fell to 7 percent, an 18-year low.

The two reports, along with a drop in German unemployment, reinforced expectations that Europe and the former Soviet Union were recovering from last year’s sharp downturn, though growth was still wobbly in places.

The European Commission’s economic sentiment indicator, which measures confidence among consumers and a broad range of industries, rose 0.5 points in October after rising 0.3 points in September. In the euro area, the index rose 0.9 points for the second month in a row. The index is 104.1 for both regions, above the long-term average.

But strong gains in Northern Europe were partly offset by continued pessimism in Spain and other countries in the south that have been the focus of Europe’s sovereign debt crisis.

‘So far, the expected growth dip in the euro area has not really materialized,