Aug. 22--TAMPA -- The unemployment rate rose slightly in the Tampa Bay area in July but remained flat statewide, according to figures released Friday.

The jobless rate in the Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater metro area rose to 11.3 percent in July from 11.2 percent in June. That compares with an unemployment rate of 6.9 percent in the Bay area in July 2008, according to the Florida Agency for Workforce Innovation. The Bay area includes Hillsborough, Pinellas, Pasco and Hernando counties.

In some encouraging news, fewer people in Florida appear to be losing their jobs. The unemployment rate statewide was 10.7 percent in July, the same as June's revised rate.

Florida is doing poorly compared with the nation, though. The U.S. unemployment rate in July was 9.4 percent, the AWI said.

Most industries lost jobs in July. For example, employment in the construction fields fell 15.6 percent from July 2008 to last month. The losses in construction are even more significant when comparing today's employment in that field to the number of construction workers in Florida in July 2006, when the housing boom was near its peak.

Today, an estimated 427,000 people work in construction in Florida, compared with 683,600 two years ago -- a drop of 38 percent.

The only major industry adding jobs is health care, although it's growing at a much slower pace.

Jobs in the health care and social assistance industry grew at a rate of 1 percent from July 2008 through last month.

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