Stephen Timms, the shadow employment minister, says the fall in unemployment is welcome. But he says it's "disappointing" that youth unemployment has risen since last month. His point is that the economic recovery isn't being felt by ordinary voters: "People recognise they were worse off now in work than they were in 2010… nothing George Osborne's going to do this afternoon will change that."

Richard Jarvis in Cardiff emails: The NI threshold needs increasing, it would cost less to raise this by £1000 than the tax threshold by £500 and benefit low earners more.

Douglas Fraser
Business and economy editor, Scotland

Speculation increasing about Nat Insurance threshold being raised towards income tax threshold. Would be politically astute. #Budget2015

Today we set out the next stage in a plan that is working, with a Budget that works for you. We will deliver a truly national recovery @George_Osborne, external

tweets, external: Budget rabbit? well connected Tory says Osborne to raise NI threshold: "It snookers Labour & puts money into people's pockets" #budget2015

Image source, Reuters

The pound's rise against the euro is being closely watched by the Bank of England and its governor, Mark Carney. The Bank Ihas published the minutes, external from its policy meeting earlier this month. The minutes said that the stronger UK economy and the effects of a stimulus programme in the eurozone might continue to put "upward pressure" on sterling. That could keep inflation below the Bank's target longer than thought, the Bank adds.

BBC News Channel

Conservative MP Kwasi Kwarteng thinks George Osborne needs to ensure his Budget statement emphasises that Britain's economic growth is stronger than any of the other OECD countries right now. "He's got to get across the fact it's a job half done, there's still quite a long way to go, but we're on the right track - and quite a lot of his policies have borne fruit," he tells the BBC News Channel. Mr Kwarteng says there's nothing "ideological" about the pursuit of a surplus by 2020.

Bill Spears in Penryn emails: "Tired of hearing how the Government's austerity measures and cuts are bringing positive results to the economy. For many of us they simply are not! I'm self-employed running a very small business, working 80 hours a week and earning a pittance. The only change I can feel is that this situation is going to actually get worse. Society has become so divided and the inequality gap is monumental. The system simply doesn't work for so many of us."

BBC Radio 4

Nick Clegg is being interviewed on Woman's Hour. The deputy prime minister is currently being grilled by the Lib Dem sex scandal and the representation problem his party has with women. You can tune in on the BBC Radio 4 iPlayer.

BBC News Channel

Vince Cable says "there will not be a spectacular giveaway" today as he sizes up the overall economic situation. "The trends on earnings are encouraging because for the last four months in succession they've had pay and wages growing faster than inflation," he tells the BBC News Channel. The Business Secretary says youth unemployment is falling fast. All this sets up the Chancellor for a decent Budget, then? "It's a coalition achievement. Both parties in the coalition joined this Government in an economic emergency, turned this country around, and that's what we've done."

John Campbell
BBC NI Economics & Business Editor

Number of people claiming unemployment benefits in NI down another 1,700 in Feb and now stands at 46,200 @JP_Biz, external

Emma Hinde emails: The Budget must include that state pension payments will no longer be calculated as earnings, and not included with any private pension payments for income tax purposes. This will save each pensioner about £50 a month. The benefit to the government could be that the £50 saving could be discounted against any state benefits that are paid to each pensioner ie housing benefit.

James Cook
Scotland Correspondent, BBC News

At 5.9%, Scotland's jobless rate is now above the UK average of 5.7% - @ons #Budget2015 @BBCJamesCook, external

BBC News Channel

"I wonder whether he's holding something back," Mark Littlewood, director-general of the Institute of Economic Affairs, tells the BBC News Channel. "We were told this Budget would be kept under lock and key, none of it would leak. If all of it's leaked already I think it could fall a bit flat." That's why he thinks George Osborne might "surprise us" with something unexpected this afternoon.

Robert Peston
Economics editor

The number of people employed in public sector is 5.4m, the lowest on record (or since 1999). Just 17.4% of employment is public sector @Peston, external

BBC News Channel

Frances O'Grady, TUC general secretary, echoes the Financial Times' warning about "extreme and unnecessary cuts". "We want to see a positive vision for Britain that's about investment in our infrastructure, decent jobs, fair pay, doing something about that housing crisis," she tells the BBC News Channel. What she's not so keen on are tax giveaways at the top. She's particularly unimpressed with the move to raise the personal allowance, which she sees is a "stealth" giveaway for the better-off.

As the chart above shows - the pound took a hit after the employment data came out. Apparently traders were disappointed by the data on wages. Total average weekly earnings, including bonuses, rose 1.1% in the month of January compared with the same month a year earlier, slowing from 2.4% in the previous month. That sent the pound to its lowest level against the dollar since June 2010.

George Osborne is a late convert to city-based devolution, ResPublica director Phillip Blond tells the BBC News Channel. But the chancellor is now something of a "zealot" on the issue. He thinks this is just as well. "If we really want to help people who, in some parts of the north, haven't emerged from the last recession in the 70s, say, then actually we need to a very radical form of transformative localism."

A bit more from the Office for National Statistics., external Average earnings increased by 1.8% in the year to January, down by 0.3% on the previous month. Excluding bonuses, earnings growth was 1.6%. In case you've forgotten, inflation, as measured by the consumer price index, stood at 0.3% in January. Here's our news story on the figures.