Hawaii’s unemployment rate slipped to 6.5 percent in January from 6.6 percent in December on a seasonally adjusted basis, the state Department of Labor and Industrial Relations announced today.

It was the third consecutive decline in the jobless rate and pushed the level of unemployment to its lowest level since February 2009 when it was 6.4 percent, the department reported.

The unemployment rate is adjusted for seasonal variations, such as temporary hiring by retailers during the holiday shopping season. On an unadjusted adjusted basis Hawaii’s jobless rate rose to 6.4 percent in January from 6.2 percent in December. Around the state the unemployment rate rose to 5.7 percent in Honolulu in January from 5.4 percent in December. It rose to 9.4 percent from 8.9 percent in Hawaii County and to 8.3 percent from 7.4 percent in Kauai County. In Maui County it was un changed at 7.1 percent.

The unemployment rate is derived largely from a telephone survey of households. A separate survey of businesses showed that the number of nonfarm payroll jobs in Hawaii fell by 1,700 in January from December, but rose by 4,400 from January 2011.