State labor officials say the seasonally adjusted unemployment rate in Colorado inched up to 5.2 percent in July, the highest the jobless rate has been since June 2005.

That's essentially unchanged from 5.1 percent in June but up from 3.8 percent in July 2007.

The national unemployment rate was 5.7 percent in July 2008.

State labor department head Donald Mares says a scarcity of jobs in construction, trade and other sectors that might hire young people in the summer contributed to the rise.

The labor department says about 144,100 residents were unsuccessfully looking for work in July, up by nearly 41,000 from a year ago.

First-time unemployment claims are up 14 percent this year through July from the same period last year.