Hawaii's unemployment rate down slightly

by Kim Jarrett, The Center Square

Hawaii's unemployment rate dropped slightly in June from 3.15% to 3%, but the number of jobs decreased, according to a news release from the Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism.

Total employment was reduced by 1,500 jobs in June. Most of them were in professional and business services, which dropped by 1,100. Government jobs declined by 600, due to a decrease in positions at the Department of Education, according to the news release. Construction jobs also decreased by 300.

Industries that added jobs from May were leisure and hospitality, which increased by 200 jobs, and "other services," which is up by 300 jobs.

The year-to-year job picture improved, with the state picking up 16,700 jobs.

The majority of them were in the leisure and hospitality industries, which are rebounding from losses that occurred during the COVID-19 pandemic. The number of jobs in the sector increased to 118,000 from 111,400 from June 2022 to June 2023. State government jobs increased from 65,800 to 68,100 during the same time frame.

The state is still recovering from the pandemic, according to the news release. Hawaii has 4% or 25,900 fewer jobs than in March 2020.

The national unemployment rate for June is 3.6%, which is also down slightly from 3.7% in May.

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DBEDT: June Unemployment News Release