BY SARAH ROSS

SALEM- Oregon’s Employment Department announced on Tuesday that the state’s unemployment rate for July landed at 10.6 percent, leaving the rate essentially unchanged for the past nine months.

It has remained between 10.5 and 10.7 during that time, including June, where it was at 10.5 percent.

In July 2009, the rate was just under 1 percent higher (11.4 percent) than it is in 2010.

Nationally, the jobless rate stayed at 9.5 percent last month, the same as June.

Three of the industries facing the biggest job declines included government which lost 5,200 jobs, educational and health services which lost 2,600 jobs, and financial activities which lost 900 jobs.

Sectors that gained employment included construction at 3,500 jobs, professional and business at 700 jobs, and manufacturing at 500 jobs.

These gains and losses were all seasonally adjusted to make room for regular fluctuations in summer employment.