UNEMPLOYMENT figures for South Warwickshire rose slightly last month, but are nothing to worry about, according to the local Chamber of Commerce, because they are due to university and college leavers.

The number of jobless for the region rose by 0.1 % for July, however that was less than was predicted despite the traditional hike caused by people leaving education. There was an unusually high number of new women claimants among last month's unemployed.

"One possible reason for the contrasting male and female unemployment figures can be explained by the number of parents who have had to leave part-time or full-time work in order to care for children who are not in full-time education over the summer period," said chamber analyst Gareth Brown.