On the morning that the British Government welcomed the fall in ILO unemployment and youth unemployment, Barack Obama’s campaign manager David Plouffe has emailed the President’s list of 13 million supporters with an email declaring “We’re on the road to recovery.”

The chart, reproduced below, shows how the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act has helped slow increases in unemployment.

Although the number of people claiming Jobseekers Allowance has increased, figures out today in the UK confirm that the recession has had a milder impact on jobless numbers. The Office for National Statistics writes today:

“When compared with previous recessions, the unemployment rate in the 2008-09 recession has remained lower.”

The UK stimulus was considerably smaller than the US stimulus so continued support is needed to secure the recovery. Left Foot Forward will have more analysis on the jobless numbers later today.

The power of stimulus from Left Foot Forward

Related posts:

1. Latest unemployment figures show vacancies up and redundancies down
2. The paradoxical stability of welfare expenditure (and why we should be spending more)
3. Labour needs to serve people whether or not it’s in power
4. Brussels “expenses scandal” not in same league as Westminster
5. Alexander: Welfare reform is meaningless amidst jobless recovery