Unemployment Increases In July

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) -- Seasonal education losses contributed to a rise in the unemployment rate in July in Oklahoma, state officials said Friday.<br/><br/>The jobless rate was 4.9%, up from 4.7% in June,

Friday, August 17th 2007, 9:58 pm

By: News On 6

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) -- Seasonal education losses contributed to a rise in the unemployment rate in July in Oklahoma, state officials said Friday.

The jobless rate was 4.9%, up from 4.7% in June, according to the Oklahoma Employment Security Commission.

Education jobs are part of the service providing industries sector, which saw employment decline from 1,305,300 in June to 1,288,600 last month, OESC reported. Among those, educational and health services jobs went from 189,600 in June to 188,100 in July.

Government jobs also dipped from 319,600 in June to 303,500 in July, OESC said.

The natural resources and mining sector saw a gain of about 400 jobs -- from 47,100 in June to 47,500 in July, statistics show.

Among Oklahoma's large metropolitan areas, Oklahoma City saw the greatest decline in jobs -- from 585,500 in June to 579,600 in July, the OESC reported. The biggest dip came in the area of government employment, down from 112,100 in June to 104,900 in July.

In the Tulsa metro area, total employment fell from 430,800 in June to 430,700 last month, statistics show. Government jobs fell from 52,600 in June to 50,700 in July.

The Lawton metro area also saw a small decline, from 41,600 jobs in June to 41,000 in July, the OESC reported.

The service providing industries reported 35,500 jobs in the Lawton area in July, down from 36,100 in June.