Associated Press - November 26, 2009 11:15 AM ET

CASPER, Wyo. (AP) - Wyoming's unemployment rate increased to 7.4 percent in October, an increase over the previous month.

The Wyoming Department of Employment reports that the state's seasonally adjusted unemployment rate increased from 6.8 percent in September to 7.4 percent in October.

The state's unemployment rate has increased in 10 of the last 11 months but still remains considerably lower than the national average of 10.2 percent.

Over the past year, the number of nonagricultural wage and salary jobs in Wyoming has decreased by 16,600, or 5.5 percent. More than half of those losses have come in the natural resources and mining sector and the construction sector.

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