Unemployment figures create work for serious politicians

The BBC reports that UK unemployment sees a slight fall.  The Guardian, on the other hand, reports that the unemployment claimant count rises again.

Debate ensues on the Guardian comment slot, with some saying one thing, and some saying another.

This is my comment, slightly expanded, and with links here:

Rather than debating how many unemployed people can dance on the tip of a statistician's pencil, perhaps we should be asking radical questions about what work is,  what damage unemployment does to health, what needs to be done to heal society and the environment, what kind of work is a real investment, what work might reduce future expenditure for both regular people, business, the health and other public services and Government. We might also ask whether the benefit system still traps people in unemployment and poverty, and whether certain benefit reforms might enable people to do beneficial work. 

But no. Real politicians do not wast time on these kind of questions, they are far to busy on important matters such as massaging and spinning the unemployment figures.