Phoenix healthcare jobs (Click here) saw the second-largest monthly and yearly employment increase during October, which is great news for anyone seeking Arizona nursing jobs (Click here).

During October, Arizona's unemployment rate decreased to 9.5 percent after remaining at 9.7 percent for two consecutive months, keeping it slightly below the national average of 9.6 percent. The Phoenix area had an unemployment rate of 8.9 percent during September.

The Phoenix-Mesa-Glendale area had a total non-farm employment of 1,728,700 workers during October, which is up from 1,706,300 workers during September and a 1.4 percent increase from last year, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

The majority of the area's monthly employment growth came from the trade, transportation, and utilities industry, which added 6,400 jobs during October. That was followed by the education and health services industry, which increased by 4,600 workers, and the construction industry, which added 4,200 jobs.

The leisure and hospitality increased by 2,700 workers over the month, while the government industry added 2,300 jobs; the professional and business services industry increased by 1,300 workers; the other services industry added 1,200 jobs; and the financial activities industry increased by 100 workers.

Employment in the mining and logging industry remained even over the month and year with 2,900 jobs. In fact, only two industries lost jobs during October, including manufacturing, which was down by 100 jobs, and information, which lost 300 workers.

When it comes to yearly job gains, the construction industry added the most workers, increasing by 4.6 percent for a total of 92,800 employees. That was followed by the education and health services industry, which grew by 4.1 percent to 238,000 jobs.

The trade, transportation, and utilities industry increased by 3.8 percent to 365,600 jobs, while the professional and business services industry grew by 2.8 percent to 282,200 workers; the leisure and hospitality industry increased by 1.1 percent to 173,000 jobs; and the other services industry grew by .1 percent to 66,800 workers.

Only four industries experienced a decline in employment between October 2009 and October 2010. The information industry suffered the biggest loss, dropping by 6.7 percent to 26,500 jobs.

That was followed by the government industry, which decreased by 2.5 percent to 237,800 workers; the financial activities industry, which declined by 1.8 percent to 134,200 jobs; and the manufacturing industry, which dropped by 1.5 percent to 108,900 workers.