Over the course of the last year the unemployment rate in Boston has been rising steadily. Although the Bureau of Labor Statistics has yet to release April’s jobless rate, March’s remained the same as February’s percentage, but both were more significant higher than the rates of the same months in 2008. In March of last year only 4.3 percent of people didn’t have jobs in Boston. Still the unemployment rate remains below the 8.9 percent average of the country.

Despite the rising jobless rate, there are still Boston jobs that employers are struggling to fill. According to a recent press release from Manpower Inc., companies across the nation are having difficulty finding qualified workers for ten positions in particular.

“In the four years we have performed this research, the same positions appear on the list again and again,” said Manpower’s President of the Americas Jonas Prising in the recent release. “Despite the current economic instability and high unemployment, there are still skills that the U.S. workforce seems to lack.”

This means that those who have experience in these fields most likely won’t struggle to find work in Boston anytime in the near future. Topping the list of hard to fill jobs was engineers.

Considering the rising need for those to fill healthcare jobs, it wasn’t surprising that nurses made the second spot on the list. These professionals are in such demand that many areas of the country are experiencing a nursing shortage, which has caused the creation of extra incentive packages.

Coming in at the third spot was skilled/manual trade positions, followed by teachers. The second of which makes sense since the education sector provides services that are necessary no matter what state the economy is in.

The rest of the list included: sales representatives, technicians, drivers, IT staff, laborers and machinist/machine operators.

“Our workforce needs to be more open to retraining and upskilling for jobs that are in demand,” said Melanie Holmes, vice president, world of work solutions for Manpower North America, in the same press release. “And, our government, business leaders and educational facilities need to take action together to ensure students are being enticed to enter these fields.”

Those who are still looking for work in Boston should consider this advice and decide if being retrained to fill one of these positions is something they might be interested in.

Although national and statewide unemployment rates are up, Massachusetts has managed to flourish, particularly by adding more Boston jobs.

In July, according to a Massachusetts Executive Office of Labor and Workforce Development Division of Unemployment Assistance article, 10 of the 12 labor market areas in Massachusetts showed job gains, with seasonal gains reported in construction, trade, transportation and utilities, professional, scientific and business services and leisure and hospitality.

The Boston-Cambridge-Quincy area added the most new jobs in July, and there also have been more new jobs in Boston this year than last year.

In June, the state’s unemployment rate came in at 5.2 percent, higher than the May rate of 4.9 percent and last year’s rate of 4.6 percent. Despite this, the state’s unemployment rate was still lower than the national unemployment rate of 5.5 percent, and Massachusetts added 2,900 jobs in June. The state has gained jobs in eight of the last nine months.

Statewide, the biggest job gain was in the leisure and hospitality industry, which added 2,500 jobs in June. With 304,600 employees, this industry has increased by 2,100 jobs from last year, showing larger-than-expected gains in arts, entertainment and recreation and accommodation and food services.

The education and health services industry added 200 jobs, and the rise in employment offset higher than usual seasonal declines in colleges and universities. The industry currently employs 636,400 people, an increase of 2.1 percent from last year. This industry continues to add the most new jobs and have the highest annual growth rate of any industry in the state.

The construction industry added 700 jobs for the month, the industry’s biggest increase since May 2007. At 134,700 employees, jobs in the industry have decreased 2.3 percent from last year. The manufacturing industry added 300 jobs in June, but at 292,300 employees is down 1.1 percent from last year.

Jobs in the professional, scientific and business services industry were unchanged for the month at 489,400 employees, an increase of 1.4 percent from last year. The financial activities industry also was unchanged at 223,500 employees, a decrease of 1,800 jobs from last year.

The trade, transportation and utilities industry lost jobs, with 568,000 workers, a decrease of 4,200 jobs from last year. The information industry also lost 200 jobs in June, although the industry has added 1,500 jobs throughout the year and has the second-highest annual growth rate at 1.7 percent.