Do the unemployment figures tell the whole story?

There is growing concern regarding unemployment figures in the UK which fell by 33,000 to 2.45 million in January. While the UK government is making much of the fall in the press, a look behind the scenes gives a very different view of the UK economy and the UK employment market place.

Official figures from the Office for National Statistics show that 8.16 million people are now classed as "economically inactive", which means they have either taken themselves away from the employment market or else looked towards study and further education - with an additional 100,000 people choosing education in the three months to January. This is the largest number of "economically inactive" people in the UK since the figures began in 1971 and gives a very different spin on the UK economy.

Despite the fact that unemployment has now fallen for the third month in a row there are still growing concerns about the current state of the UK economic recovery and many people expect unemployment to rise in the latter part of 2010. However, if the government can maintain this trend for 2 to 3 months this should be enough to see them over the finishing line in the next election. Or will it?