Montgomery County remains the state’s leader in unemployment for the second consecutive month.

The Kansas Department of Labor reported Friday that Montgomery County’s jobless rate in July was 14.3 percent — up from the 11.1 percent posted in June.

The increase in lost jobs in July also is significantly hire than in July 2008 when the county’s unemployment rate was 6.1 percent. That’s a 134 percent increase in a 12-month span.

The jobless report showed Montgomery County with 2,714 unemployed persons in July (compared to 1,994 unemployed persons in June).

There was one ray of optimism in the report: the total number of employed workers rose in July — from 16,095 in June to 16,244 the following month.

The statewide unemployment rate in July was 7.7 percent, up from the 7.1 percent posted in June and an increase from the 4.9 jobless rate in July 2008. For the sake of comparison, the statewide unemployment rate rose 44 percent from July 2008 to the same month in 2009.

Montgomery County isn’t alone in the realm of unemployment. Several other area counties are among the tops in Kansas for joblessness in July. Finishing with the second-highest unemployment in July was Wilson County (12.6 percent) while Chautauqua County posted the third-highest percentage (12.5 percent). Finishing with unemployment rates of 10 or more percent in July were Woodson County (10.9 percent), Wyandotte County (10.8 percent), Elk County (10.3 percent), Sumner County (10.3 percent), Sedgwick County (10.2 percent) and Atchison County (10.2 percent).

According to July 2009 estimates, Kansas businesses lost 48,500 jobs in the past year, a 3.5 percent decrease.

Most major industries reported statewide over-the-year losses. These losses were highest in manufacturing, professional and business services, and trade, transportation and utilities.