Colorado's unemployment rate rose in July as the construction sector sustained its fifth straight month of job losses amid a sluggish housing market.

Despite a decline in construction - and manufacturing - the state has continued adding jobs at a modest clip. High-paying work for lawyers, architects, engineers and computer designers has increased briskly.

The unemployment rate remains at historically low levels. The seasonally adjusted jobless rate climbed to 3.8 percent last month from 3.5 percent in June, the state Department of Labor and Employment reported.

The nation's unemployment rate was essentially unchanged at 4.6 percent in July.

The state has added 46,200 jobs from the same month last year, a 2 percent gain.

Colorado this year has seen job growth of about 2 percent, weaker than last year's 2.4 percent increase but solid relative to the rest of the country.

"There was a slowdown in job creation, and sooner or later that was going to be reflected in the employment rate," said Joe Winter, Labor Department economist.

Winter said the employment figures are healthy, noting that the wild job growth Colorado experienced in the late 1990s "skewed our expectations for job creation."

The professional and business services sector of the economy had another positive month, and education, health services and leisure and hospitality also saw relatively strong gains.

The construction industry lost 500 jobs in July. Manufacturing payrolls fell by 3,000.

Costilla County had the highest jobless rate in Colorado at 8.1 percent while Hinsdale County recorded the lowest at 1.8 percent.

Across the country, Michigan again posted the highest unemployment rate - 7.2 percent - and Idaho had the lowest - 2.3 percent, the report showed.

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