Jobless rate sees first increase since August 2011

January’s figure of 5.2 percent resulted from a decline in the overall labor force

By Alan Yonan Jr.

POSTED: 01:30 a.m. HST, Mar 16, 2013

~~<p>Hawaii's unemployment rate rose in January for the first time in 15 months, climbing to a seasonally adjusted 5.2 percent from 5.1 percent in December, the state Department of Labor and Industrial Relations reported Friday.</p>
<p>The last time the jobless rate increased was in August 2011 when it rose to 6.7 percent from 6.6 percent in July. Despite the uptick, the December rate was well below where it was a year earlier, when it was 6.3 percent. Hawaii's rate also compared favorably with the national unemployment rate of 7.9 percent in January. Hawaii's December jobless rate was revised down from a previously reported 5.2 percent rate.</p>
~~

Hawaii's unemployment rate rose in January for the first time in 15 months, climbing to a seasonally adjusted 5.2 percent from 5.1 percent in December, the state Department of Labor and Industrial Relations reported Friday.

The last time the jobless rate increased was in August 2011 when it rose to 6.7 percent from 6.6 percent in July. Despite the uptick, the December rate was well below where it was a year earlier, when it was 6.3 percent. Hawaii's rate also compared favorably with the national unemployment rate of 7.9 percent in January. Hawaii's December jobless rate was revised down from a previously reported 5.2 percent rate. Login for more...