HARRISBURG — Pennsylvania's employers slashed fewer than 10,000 jobs in July for the second straight month since October.

The state Department of Labor and Industry estimated Thursday that Pennsylvania employers shed 4,800 nonfarm jobs in July.

Payrolls shrank by 8,600 jobs in June, up from the 3,400 that the department originally estimated.

The state now has fewer than 5.62 million seasonably adjusted nonfarm jobs, the fewest since February 2004.

The jobless rate inched upward from 8.3 percent to 8.4 percent in July. It was last at 8.4 percent in February 1985. Still, Pennsylvania's jobless rate remains a percentage point below the national rate.

Since the recession began in December 2007, Pennsylvania has lost more than 190,000 jobs, or one in 30.