State unemployment taxes paid by Hawaii businesses will drop an average of $300 per employee annually in 2014 as a result of a rebound in the fund used to pay jobless benefits.

Employers will pay an average of $587 per employee, down 34 percent from $887 per employee in 2013, the Department of Labor and Industrial Relations said today.

The fund has grown as the number of unemployed workers drawing benefits has decreased. The fund balance for 2013 is estimated to be around $300 million, up from $104 million in 2012, according to the Labor Department.

“This is welcome news to many small businesses throughout the state who can now consider investing the savings in their businesses and personnel,” Gov. Neal Abercrombie said in a written statement.

Hawaii’s unemployment rate dropped to 4.4 percent in November from a peak of 7.1 percent during the 2008-2009 recession.