Hawaii’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate fell to 5.1 percent in March from 5.2 percent in February, the state Department of Labor and Industrial Relations reported today.

The number of unemployed residents who were looking for work fell to 33,300 in March, an decline of 500 from February. The number of employed, meanwhile, fell by 3,200 to 614,100.  The result was a net decline in the overall labor force, which is a combination the two categories of workers.

Hawaii’s 5.1 percent March unemployment rate compared to a 7.6 percent rate nationally.

The statewide and national data are adjusted for seasonal variations, such as the hiring of temporary workers for the holiday shopping season.

County data are not seasonally adjusted. The unemployment rate fell to 4.6 percent from 4.9 percent for Honolulu County, to 7.6 percent from 7.9 percent for Hawaii County, to 6.4 percent from 6.9 percent for Kauai County, and to 5.7 percent from 6.0 percent for Maui County.

The labor force data are derived largely from a telephone survey of households. A separate survey of  businesses showed that the number of nonfarm payroll jobs  fell to 609,300 in March, down 500 from February. However, the number of payroll jobs in March was up 9,400 from the same month a year earlier.