Hawaii’s unemployment rate fell to 5.5 percent in October, the lowest level in nearly four years, the state Department of Labor and Industrial Relations reported Thursday.
The rate compared with a 5.7 percent jobless rate in September. Unemployment in October was the lowest since November 2008 when the rate was 5.3 percent.
The local job market is showing signs of sustained improvement after an extended slump that followed the 2008-2009 recession.
The decline in the October rate followed a drop of 0.4 percentage points in September.
There were 35,550 unemployed workers in October, 1,110 fewer than in September. The number of employed rose to 606,950, a 3,000 increase from September.
"Hawaii’s improved unemployment rate is another welcome sign that our economy is continuing to recover," Gov. Neil Abercrombie said in a prepared statement. "To continue this positive momentum, we remain committed to our proven plan of fiscal prudence and investing in state infrastructure and facilities that will continue to stimulate the economy and create employment opportunities for local residents."
Nationally, the unemployment rate rose to 7.9 percent in October from 7.8 percent in September. The state and national numbers are adjusted for seasonal variations, such as teachers returning to the workforce after the summer.
On an unadjusted basis the jobless rate fell in all counties except for Honolulu.
The rate declined to 7.5 percent from 7.9 percent in Hawaii County, to 5.7 percent from 6 percent in Maui County and to 6.5 percent from 6.8 percent in Kauai County. The rate was unchanged at 5 percent in Honolulu County.
The labor report also included a broader measure of unemployment that includes discouraged workers and those working part time who would like to be in full-time jobs. Called the U-6 rate, it fell in Hawaii to 13.7 percent in the four quarters through September from 14.8 percent in the four quarters through June.
The labor force data are derived largely from a telephone survey of Hawaii households.
A separate survey of businesses found that the number of payroll jobs in October grew by 2,200 from September and by 12,000 from October 2011.
The biggest increases on a year-over-year basis were in leisure and hospitality (5,200); trade, transportation and utilities (3,100); and education and health services (1,500). Construction, which has been one of the slowest industries to recover from the recent recession, gained 200 jobs from a year earlier. However, construction jobs are still well below their pre-recession peak, according to the data.
Hiring in the government sector continued to languish. Overall, government jobs fell by 100 as a decline of 400 positions in state government more than offset a 300 gain at the federal level.
Other signs that the labor market is improving include an increase in employers attending the state’s largest job fair looking for new hires. The Job Quest job fair, held three times a year at Blaisdell Center, drew 180 employers in September, the most in more than three years.
One of the reasons more people aren’t being hired is that there is a "skills gap" in which many applicants don’t have the necessary training or experience to do the jobs, said Beth Busch, executive director of Job Quest.
