Minnesota employers added 4,300 jobs in July and the unemployment rate stayed at 5.2 percent, the state announced Thursday. The state has gained 71,500 jobs over the past year, a growth rate of 2.6 percent, compared with a U.S. growth rate of 1.7 percent, according to figures released by the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development. "On an annual basis, the Minnesota labor market is recovering at a pace we haven't seen since the expansion of the 1990s," said DEED Commissioner Katie Clark Sieben. "We're edging closer to pre-recessionary employment levels, needing to add just 5,500 jobs to regain all the jobs that were lost in the recession." June's figures were revised downward from 400 jobs gained to 1,000 jobs lost. Government led all sectors in July by gaining 4,000 jobs, mostly in local government, followed by financial activities, which were up 2,300. Leisure and hospitality added 1,400 jobs, other services added 1,300, and information added 1,100. Logging and mining held steady. Job losses occurred in education, construction, manufacturing, and trade, transportation and utilities. Ten of the state's 11 major industrial sectors have gained jobs in the past 12 months, led by professional and business services, which are up 16,200. The only sector to lose jobs over the past year was manufacturing, which is down 2,500. In the state Metropolitan Statistical Areas, job growth occurred in the past 12 months in the Minneapolis-St. Paul MSA (up 3.7 percent), St. Cloud MSA (up 3 percent), Mankato MSA (up 1.7 percent), Rochester MSA (up 0.5 percent) and Duluth-Superior MSA (up 0.5 percent).