But is it really testament to government action? Or is it a result of a naturally improving economy (which, let's not forget, is taking longer in the UK than most other developed nations)? Well, a study commissioned by the Spectator from Oxford Economics found that Brown's "investment" would "save" around 35,000 jobs in 2009 – but then destroy considerably more jobs from this year on. Even though there’s been a Budget and a PBR between that study and now, it still gives the lie to Brown's frequent claim that the government has saved hundreds-of-thousands of jobs.
Besides, as Theresa May pointed out in a well-pitched response to today's news, there are some worrying underlying trends. For instance, the number of people working part-time rose by 99,000 to an all-time high of 7.71 million. Are people taking part-time work out of desperation? And what happens if they start looking for full-time work? And that's before we think about the high levels of youth unemployment, among other problems.
Of course, falling unemployment is better than rising unemployment. But – as with many of the economic indicators we're seeing at the moment – there's still plenty of cause for concern.