Unemployed figures improving...for some

The headlines you will see on the news look good. There has been a fall in unemployment of 51,000 in the three months to April. What's more a high number of jobs were created in the private sector. On top of that, youth unemployment is down.

So why isn't the government crowing? Why are economists not hailing this as a turning of the corner? The answer comes when we peak beneath the headlines.

Women have been stuck in unemployment more than men, with only around 1,000 new jobs.

The number of people overall unemployed for more than a year has actually grown 57,000 over the last 12 months.

Unemployed benefits claims have also gone up 8,100 in the last recorded month.

All this means that Britain still has a mass unemployment problem. In some regions the rate has gone up and for some categories there have been painful rises.

All politicians will also be very aware that these figures capture the situation as it was...the future is a different matter.

The Eurozone crisis and it's impact on exports are, perhaps, still to leave their worst scars on Britains employment figures.