HAWAII’S UNEMPLOYMENT RATE AT 4.2 PERCENT IN APRIL

News Release from DBEDT, May 19, 2022

HONOLULU — The Hawai‘i State Department of Business, Economic Development & Tourism (DBEDT) today announced that the seasonally adjusted unemployment rate for April was 4.2 percent, compared to 4.1 percent in March. Statewide, 645,700 were employed and 28,250 unemployed in April for a total seasonally adjusted labor force of 673,950. Nationally, the seasonally adjusted unemployment rate was 3.6 percent in April, unchanged from March.

The unemployment rate figures for the State of Hawai‘i and the U.S. in this release are seasonally adjusted, in accordance with the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) methodology. The not seasonally adjusted rate for the State was 3.6 percent in April, compared to the revised rate of 3.4 percent in March.

INDUSTRY PAYROLL EMPLOYMENT (ESTABLISHMENT SURVEY)

In a separate measure of employment, total nonagricultural jobs increased by 3,800 in April over March. Job gains were experienced in Leisure & Hospitality (+2,100); Education & Health Services (+1,100); Information (+400); Professional & Business Services (+200); and Financial Activities (+200).  Within Leisure & Hospitality, the bulk of the rise was evenly split between  Accommodation; and Food Services & Drinking Places, though there was also expansion in Arts, Entertainment, & Recreation.  Within Education & Health Services, almost all of the gains were in Health Care & Social Assistance, particularly in the Ambulatory Health Care Services subsector.  Manufacturing jobs remained unchanged. 

Job losses occurred in Other Services (-100);  Construction (-300); and Trade, Transportation, & Utilities (-400).  Government employment rose by 600 jobs, with the increase attributed to the Department of Education and the University of Hawai‘i System. 

Over- the-year (April 2021 was the 13th month of pandemic effects), nonfarm jobs have gone up by 28,800, or 5.0 percent. However, in comparison with March 2020 (last month prior to pandemic effects), nonfarm jobs were down by 50,000, or -7.6 percent.

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