Further to this post on the fall in unemployment I see that the contextual comments have started:
Speedy work BBC, let no good news under a Tory government be left unexplained.
'While the number of unemployed men fell by 31,000 in the three months to the end of February, the number of jobless women rose by 14,000.
...
The ONS also said that the number people in employment rose by 143,000 to 29.23 million, compared with a pre-recession peak of 29.56 million recorded for the three months to the end of May 2008.
Total pay rose by 2% compared with a year earlier, well below the rate of inflation, as measured by the CPI index, which stands at 4%.
Analysts said this provided further evidence of the squeeze consumers were feeling in their spending power.
Despite the fall in the number of unemployed, analysts warned that the jobless number was likely to rise again.
"We retain the view that unemployment is headed up over the coming months," said Howard Archer at IHS Global Insight.
"We suspect that likely below-trend growth will mean that the private sector will be unable to fully compensate for the increasing job losses in the public sector that will result from the fiscal squeeze that is now really kicking in."
The government is starting to introduce spending cuts designed to bring down the budget deficit.
