Wisconsin continues to feel the effects of the national economic downturn, but there are some bright spots.
The state's seasonally adjusted unemployment rate has increase three-tenths of percent in the last month to 4.9 percent. Total employment in the state was down 17-thousand from June to July. Deputy Secretary of the Department of Workforce Development Joanna Richard says some of those declines are the result of national economic trends.
However, Richard says July was the fifth consecutive month where manufacturing and construction employment actually increased. The leisure and hospitality sectors also saw strong growth.