Hawaii’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate was 4.6 percent in February, unchanged from January, the state Department of Labor and Industrial Relations reported Thursday.

Hawaii’s jobless rate had been falling slowly since it peaked at 7.1 percent in the summer of 2009 near the end of the last recession. The rate has been under 5 percent since January 2013.

Nationally, the unemployment rate rose to 6.7 percent in February from 6.6 percent in January.

The state and national numbers are adjusted for seasonal factors, such as retailers hiring temporary sales staff for the holiday shopping season. County jobs data are not seasonally adjusted.

Hawaii’s number of unemployed in February was 30,150, unchanged from January. The number of employed, meanwhile, rose by 750 to 626,400, according to the report.

The unemployment rate is derived largely from a monthly telephone survey of households. A separate survey of businesses showed that the number of payroll jobs in Hawaii fell by 2,300 in February from January. 

The biggest drop in payroll jobs was in leisure and hospitality, which fell by 1,800, according to the report. Jobs in professional and business services declined by 1,100.

Compared with February 2013, however, the number of payroll jobs increased by 4,400. 

The biggest increases from a year ago was in government employment, which rose by 1,900. Leisure and hospitality gained 1,100 jobs, while hiring in construction was unchanged.

Hawaii’s job market is expected to continue strengthening this year and next, according to the state Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism. 

DBEDT is forecasting that the average unemployment rate will fall to 4.2 percent in 2014 and to 4 percent in 2015. Hawaii’s unemployment rate was as low as 2.3 percent during the economic expansion in 2006.