State unemployment rate rose in July

JUNEAU - Alaska's unemployment rose last month, increasing from 6.7 percent in June to 6.9 percent in July.

State labor economist Dan Robinson says the July rate was up .7 percent from July 2007 but that there's not a clear trend over the last four months.

The Department of Labor says 3,600 payroll jobs were added from June to July, primarily from a large season increase in seafood processing.

Robinson says that over the year, growth of 2,900 jobs remains modest.

He says strong gains in oil and gas have more than compensated for lower job counts in seafood processing, construction, and leisure and hospitality.

There were 22,690 people unemployed in Alaska in July.