The test of the labour market will be whether or not further growth sees a fall in unemployment to 6% or less, he says.

ECONOMIST: Chile

South Korea's aggressive labour unions may prove a tougher test.

ECONOMIST: South Korea

They are sure to put to the test Blair's success at keeping Labour in step during the campaign.

CNN: Blair faces great expectations -- from both sides - 1997 UK Elections

The Scottish National Party hopes to repeat its success in Glasgow East and snatch the seat from Labour - it is seen by some as another test for Gordon Brown's leadership.

BBC: Brown 'keen' to visit Glenrothes

The test, first introduced by the last Labour government and being rolled out by the coalition, can also place applicants into a "work-related activity group", where they will be expected to take steps to prepare themselves for work in the medium to long term.

BBC: Benefit tests 'not money driven'

The first test will come later today in the House of Lords, where Labour peers have put down a "manuscript amendment", designed to require a judicial, rather than parliamentary inquiry.

BBC: Who judges?

They were the first electoral test since September's fuel protest fury and the subsequent collapse in Labour's opinion poll standing and given those circumstances they survived remarkably well.

BBC: Surviving the swing

One major test of the government's commitment to growth is the country's labour laws.

BBC: France budget: Hollande's grim choices

For Brazil, the latest test of government and judicial resolve concerns Nicolau dos Santos, himself a former labour-court judge and now a fugitive from justice.

ECONOMIST: Stopping the rot in public life

The elections are seen as a crucial test for the party, with both Plaid Cymru and the Conservatives predicting that Labour could come second or third in terms of the popular vote in Wales, for the first time since the 1930s.

BBC: Morgan's 'stick with Labour' plea

The Lewis Point is the great test for catch-up economies, when they can no longer rely on cheap labour, copied technology, and export-led growth to keep the game going.

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For the government, it is a test of Tony Blair's ability, honed over a decade, to make the Labour Party do things it doesn't particularly want to do.

ECONOMIST: Education reform