Hawai‘i County Unemployment Falls to 3.3% in August

Hawai‘i County unemployment fell to 3.3% in August according to the Hawai‘i State Department of Labor & Industrial Relations (DLIR). Unemployment was down .5% that month, falling from 3.8% in July as reported by DLIR.

Statewide, unemployment remained nearly the same, falling to 2.7% in August compared with 2.8% during March through July. That figure tallied to a total of 643,050 employed and 18,000 unemployed in August, and a total seasonally adjusted workforce of 661,050.

Initial claims increased by 6.6% while weeks claims decreased by -0.3% for unemployment benefits compared to one year ago. Over-the-month both initial claims and weeks claims dropped by -8.8% and -9.0%, respectively, in August 2019.

Table courtesy of DLIR.

The unemployment rate figures for the State of Hawai‘i reported by DLIR were seasonally adjusted in accordance with the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) methodology. The not seasonally adjusted rate for the state was 2.5% in August compared to 2.7% in July.

In employment measures by industry, there was a decline of 1,800 nonagricultural jobs in August over July. Within the major industries, job gains occurred in Professional & Business Services (+400), Education & Health Services (+300), Leisure & Hospitality (+200), Construction (+100) and Manufacturing (+100). Employment in Information and Other Services remained stable. Job losses were seen in Financial Activities (-100) and Trade, Transportation, & Utilities (-400). Government jobs declined by 2,400 jobs due to no hiring of primary election workers biennially. Compared to one year ago, total non-farm jobs expanded by 600, or 0.1%.

Graph courtesy of DLIR.