At the same time, a report by Manpower showed a significant upturn in employers planning to take on more staff versus those intending to reduce their workforce.
This second story affected tens of thousands of people looking for work, not only because of its scale but because it is happening now.
But the business editor doesn't tweet this good news.
There are over 500,000 more private sector jobs since the last election. Not a lot of people tell you that. Instead, the news noise is about the increase in unemployment which, though horrendous for those affected, has had a direct impact on many fewer. Over the same period, there are 100,000 more people claiming unemployment benefit.
Confidence is what we most need to emerge from our economic gloom. Optimists achieve more even if they are wrong and now here's a chance to be factually accurate and upbeat.
So, why is there this self-destructive urge to put the spotlight on job losses more than job gains?
Our business narrative has taken its cue from Hollywood, pitching employee against employer in a rerun of David and Goliath. The hard-working and long-suffering employee (squeezed middle) sweats away, as the big, bad, tax avoiding tycoon reaps all the benefits of their labour.
It is not only easy to maintain this narrative, it is also very popular. From The Office to Horrible Bosses, The Devil wears Prada to Wall Street there's plenty of confirming entertainment.
Mitt Romney is the latest to fall foul of this trend. He has directly created far more jobs than any other presidential candidate and even the cost-cutting he conducted often saved businesses from obliteration, and so greater job cuts. But that isn't what is being heard even in the most avowedly capitalist of democracies.
A more honest debate about jobs and business would be good for all of us. It could start with the following.
First: cutting jobs is essential. As markets change and business leaders take their eye off the ball (as with Lloyds' previous management), companies get bloated in the wrong places. Like those of us who need to cut back on the cholesterol, if they don't respond they will eventually collapse. This will have far greater consequences on the people who work in them.
Second, people who lose their job and find another one (which is the vast majority) have better health and report less stress than those who stay in the 'downsized' organisation. Indeed, they often report that, in retrospect, losing the job they didn't much love was the best thing that ever happened to them. Yet, the debate about restructuring and consequent job losses universally frames it as a negative experience. The reality is far more nuanced.
Third, the real heroes are those who build businesses from nothing or turn them around so they flourish. Steve Jobs managed both, which potentially makes him a super-hero. Far more mundane are the likes of Andrew Whitty, who has transformed GSK but received by far the biggest headlines for his pay, or the countless small business leaders who are berated when they plea for brakes on oppressive employment legislation.
It is on these people all our futures depend. It is time we showed them a little more love, or, at least, respect. That means turning the bosses into heroes and heroines too.
Octavius Black is CEO of Mind Gym
