Sep. 29--Lehigh Valley unemployment continued its climb toward double digits in August, surging to 9.3 percent. The region shed jobs for the 10th consecutive month, according to data to be released today by the Pennsylvania Department of Labor and Industry.

A worsening labor market is bad news for job hunters. "The improvement is not coming about as fast as we hoped it would," said Becky Sokolowski, regional director of local operations for staffing agency Manpower Inc. "There are a lot of people looking for work."

The August jobless rate, up from 9 percent in July, represents a 25-year high. And it's the second-highest unemployment rate among Pennsylvania metropolitan regions. Only Erie is higher, at 9.8 percent. That's unusual. The Lehigh Valley typically ranks near the middle among Pennsylvania's metro regions. Still, the region's jobless rate fell short of the national rate of 9.7 percent.

All told, 38,800 local residents were looking for work but didn't get hired in August. That's the second-highest number of unemployed Lehigh Valley residents on record. Data goes back to 1970.

The only time the Valley saw more people out of work was January 1983. However, because the region had a smaller labor force -- and it didn't include Warren County, N.J., as it does now -- that translated into 15 percent unemployment at that time. Currently, the Labor Department defines the region as including Lehigh, Northampton, Carbon and Warren counties.

Economists generally are not predicting the jobless rate to rise into the mid-teens again. But many forecast unemployment of more than 10 percent, both in the Lehigh Valley and nationwide.

The tough employment climate was on display last week at the region's largest job fair at the Allentown Fairgrounds. More than 5,000 job seekers turned out for an expo that had half as many employers as usual offering jobs.

The region has lost 12,300 jobs over the past year, according to the state Labor Department. Manufacturing jobs totaled 35,600, the lowest since comparable records going back to 1990. That sector has lost 3,900 jobs over the past year.

Meanwhile, retailers cut 2,200 jobs over the year. Retailers typically start staffing up about now for the holiday shopping season. But that's not happening this year, Sokolowski said.

"Retailers are not hiring in anticipation of the holidays. They're being more reactive," she said. That's also true of other seasonal businesses influenced by holiday shopping, such as distribution centers, she said.