HAWAII SEPTEMBER UNEMPLOYMENT RATE AT 2.8 PERCENT

Jobs increased by 6,600 year-over-year

News Release from DBEDT, Oct 18, 2023

HONOLULU — The Hawaii State Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism (DBEDT) today announced that the seasonally adjusted unemployment rate for September was 2.8 percent, the same as in July and August. In September, 656,400 persons were employed and 19,200 were unemployed, for a total seasonally adjusted labor force of 675,600 statewide. Nationally, the seasonally adjusted unemployment rate was 3.8 percent in September, the same as in July.

(Unemployment on Maui jumped to 8.4% after the Lahaina fires.)

The unemployment rate figures for the State of Hawaii 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 3.3 percent in September, compared to 3.1 percent in August.

Industry Payroll Employment (Establishment Survey)

In a separate measure of employment, total nonagricultural jobs increased by 200 month-over month, from August 2023 to September 2023. Job gains were experienced in Private Education & Health Services (+500); Professional & Business Services (+300); Manufacturing (+200); Construction (+100); and Financial Activities (+100). Job losses occurred in Information (-100); Other Services (-200); Leisure & Hospitality (-800); and Trade, Transportation & Utilities (-1,300). There was notable job contraction in the predominant subsectors of Leisure & Hospitality (Accommodation; and Food Services & Drinking Places) and Trade, Transportation & Utilities (Retail Trade; and Transportation & Warehousing) because of the Maui wildfires. Government employment went up by 1,400 jobs. The rise in Government was in state government, due to the deployment of the National Guard on Maui and a higher-than-seasonal-average increase of workers in the University of Hawaii system. Year-over-year (September 2022 was the 30th month of pandemic effects), nonfarm jobs have gone up by 6,600, or 1.1 percent. However, in comparison with March 2020 (the last month prior to pandemic effects), nonfarm jobs were down by 22,900, or -3.5 percent.

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