By Associated Press
Nashville, TN – Tennessee's July unemployment rate has held steady at just under 10 percent from the previous month. State Labor Commissioner Karla Davis says "statistics behind the unchanged unemployment rate show a slight drop in employment numbers along with an overall decline in the labor force." The national unemployment rate for July was 9.1 percent, down one tenth of a percent from the month before. According to a survey of businesses, monthly employment increases came in mining, logging and construction, up 1,900 jobs; local government educational services, up 1,400; hospitals, up 900 jobs; and durable goods manufacturing, up 900. Food services and drinking places decreased by 1,600 jobs, and state government also declined by 1,600.