A statement issued after the G20 meeting says that recovery has been uneven and remains dependent on support, while unemployment is a major concern.

Earlier, British PM Gordon Brown called for a fund for bank bailouts, possibly paid for by a tax on transactions, but the proposal received a lukewarm response from the other G20 countries.

Critics argue the proposed tax would impede the global financial markets that help lubricate an increasingly interdependent world economy.

The idea has been received politely by finance ministers - but several made remarks which suggest that other ways of tackling the problem are more likely to be adopted.

Canadian Finance Minster, Jim Flaherty, said the UK plan is not particularly attractive in Canada.

The G20 countries also promised to step up efforts to tackle climate change and work towards an ambitious outcome at next month's climate conference in Copenhagen.