Hawaii jobless rate rises for first time in 2 years

Hawaii’s unemployment rate rose in July for the first time in more than two years, highlighting the sluggish nature of the state’s economic recovery following the 2008-2009 recession.

The number of unemployed in Hawaii rose by just 100 from June to July, but the increase was enough to push up the jobless rate to 6.1 percent from 6 percent, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported Friday.

It was the first increase in the seasonally adjusted unemployment rate since June 2009 when it rose to 7 percent from 6.9 percent the month before. That was the jobless rate’s highest point during the recession. It remained at 7 percent for six months before beginning its slow descent in early 2010.

"The job market is kind of treading water. It’s not getting significantly better at this point," said Leroy Laney, an economics professor at Hawaii Pacific University.

The number of payroll jobs in Hawaii is still 5 percent to 6 percent below the cyclical peak in 2008, Laney said. He said the job market showed some initial improvement when the tourism industry began rebounding in late 2009 and early 2010, but improvement since then has been slow. "That hiring is behind us. There are still pockets of weakness in the economy that aren’t getting better," Laney said.

The biggest laggard is the construction industry, where hiring has been constrained by the slumping housing market. Until the backlog of foreclosures is resolved, there will be little incentive to build new homes, according to Laney.

Despite the slow decline in Hawaii’s unemployment rate, it remained among the lowest in the nation, tied with Virginia at ninth best. North Dakota led the nation with a 3.3 percent rate, while 10 states — including California — were above 10 percent. The national unemployment rate fell to 9.1 percent in July from 9.2 percent in June.

The state and national unemployment figures are adjusted for seasonal variations, such as an influx of students into the job market during the summer months. County jobless data are not seasonally adjusted.

The unemployment rate for Honolulu County fell to 5.4 percent in July from 5.7 percent in June, according to a separate report Friday from the state Department of Labor and Industrial Relations. It fell to 9.5 percent from 10.6 percent in Hawaii County, to 7.5 percent from 8.2 percent in Maui County and to 8.5 percent from 9.2 percent in Kauai County.

The unemployment rate is derived from a telephone survey of households by the Census Bureau for the Bureau of Labor Statistics. A separate survey of businesses by the BLS showed that the number of payroll jobs in Hawaii increased by 6,700 in July from June.

Jobs in education and health services increased by 1,800 positions. Trade, transportation and utilities added 1,600 jobs mainly in the retail and wholesale sectors. There was a gain of 800 leisure and hospitality jobs, while financial activities saw a net increase of 700 positions.