Statewide Unemployment Dropped to 4.7% Last Month

State officials announced today that Hawaii’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate for May declined to 4.7%, down from 4.9% in April.

Hawaii’s unemployment rate is significantly lower than the national average. In May, the national seasonally adjusted unemployment rate was 7.6%, compared to 7.5% in April.

Statewide, there were 615,750 employed and 30,600 unemployed in May, for a total seasonally adjusted labor force of 646,350.

The unemployment rate figures for the state and the US are seasonally adjusted, in accordance with the US Bureau of Labor Statistics methodology.

The non-seasonally adjusted rate for the state decreased to 4.5% in May, down from 5.9% in May 2012.

Table showing unemployment rates throughout the state. Image courtesy of DLIR.

Hawaii County’s unemployment rate in May was 6.5%, down from 8.4% during the same month last year. Even with the decrease, the Big Island had the second-highest unemployment rate in the state

The island of Molokai had the highest rate of unemployment at 8.3%.

Across the islands, Lanai had the lowest unemployment rate with 1.3%, followed by Oahu at 4%, Maui island at 4.7%, and Kauai at 5.3%.

County and island rates of unemployment are not seasonally adjusted.