SIR – While the Coalition Government congratulates itself on the latest ‘falling unemployment’ figures (only 2.3 million now!) perhaps we should examine the Government claims.

First and foremost, we must define the notion of ‘employment’. For myself, and I suppose anyone not primarily trying to deceive the public, employment is nine to five and five days per week.

The majority of jobs created in the past three years, however, are not even close to being that.

Most newly-created jobs are either short-term (agency) contracts, part-time, (preferably under 18 hours per week) or even worse, zero hours contracts, which is a modern-day version of the Victorian ‘coddy’ coming to the factory gates each morning and saying, “you, you and you, the rest of you can scarper”.

Of course, what the coalition is much less keen to trumpet, is that the pathetic wages being paid in all these schemes are being made up by us, the taxpayers, in benefits, thereby increasing profits for the already wealthy by subsidising cheap labour for big business.

Far from being a fall in unemployment then, the recent figures demonstrate a huge increase in exploitation.

Christopher Hindle, Osterley Grove, Bradford