Leicestershire's dole queue rose last month, wiping out an earlier fall and dashing hopes of a quick recovery in the economy.

The number of people claiming Jobseekers' Allowance increased by 326 to 24,499 in July, a rise of 1.3%.

It comes after the claimant count fell by 124 in June, fuelling speculation that economic recovery in the county was well underway. Last month's increase wipes out June's jobs recovery and adds a further 202 to the dole queue.

The city's claimant count was up 141 to 12,467 last month, while the figure for the rest of the county rose by 185 to 12,032.

Martin Traynor, managing director of Leicestershire Chamber of Commerce, said although the rise was disappointing he was buoyed by the fact that vacancies in the county increased by 1,000 to 12,000 in July.

"We are still bucking the national trend," he said. "Proportionally, around the UK the rise has been higher. What we have seen in Leicestershire is stabilization. The figure has gone up, but the fact there are more vacancies in the system means we are in a better position."

Nationally, Jobseekers' Allowance claimants rose by 24,900 to 1.58m, or 1.5%. The total number of unemployed people in the UK increased by 220,000 to 2.44m in the three months to June.

Mr Traynor has previously predicted the county's dole queue will reach 30,000 by the end of the year.