The employment and unemployment figures have been improving for several months, at a time when the double dip has been getting clearer.

BBC: Scottish unemployment drops again

But technically Britain has fallen into a double-dip recession, and for the first time since the 1970s.

ECONOMIST: Britain��s stuttering economy

Also, for the first time since September, the double-dip forecasts are again hitting the financial airwaves.

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Now Britain is officially in double-dip recession, and has achieved the remarkable feat of doing worse this time around than it did in the 1930s.

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Over that time frame, there have been only three recorded instances of a double-dip recession.

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