UNEMPLOYMENT has risen slightly in Bromsgrove, new figures show.

The latest statistics from the Department of Work and Pensions show 450 people were out of work in July, up 20 from the same time last year.

There were 60 18-to-24-year-olds out of work in July, which is an increase of 10 from last year.

But the figures still represent a huge drop in unemployment from 2010, when 1,340 people were unemployed in July, including 410 18-24-year-olds.

Nationally, unemployment has reached a 40-year low falling by 65,000 in the latest quarter to 1.36 million.