The unemployment rate rose to 3.2 percent in April, up from 3.1 percent in March.

“It’s still a very good rate,” said Eugene Tian, chief economist for the state Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism. “It’s about the same. It’s an indication that the labor market is still very good. If you compare with the previous month, March, it looks like it’s worse, but it is much better than the same month last year.”

The unemployment rate a year ago was 3.9 percent.

The labor force, which includes people who are employed and those who are unemployed but actively seeking work, dipped by 450 in April to 689,850 from the previous high of 690,300 in March, according to data released Friday by the state Department of Labor and Industrial Relations.

There were 667,950 people employed in April, lower than the high of 668,800 people reached in March. The unemployed rose to 21,900 from 21,550 over the same period.

The number of nonagriculture jobs was up 2 percent in April from a year ago at 646,500.

“This is a very healthy growth,” Tian said. “In terms of April growth rates since 2007, only April 2013 experienced a 2.5 percent job growth; other April growth rates are all below 2.0 percent.”

The unemployment rate and nonfarm payroll numbers are derived from separate surveys. Hawaii’s unemployment rate is derived largely from a monthly telephone survey of households, while a separate survey of businesses determines the number of nonfarm payroll jobs. The nonfarm payroll jobs figure includes people who might hold multiple jobs but doesn’t include people who are self-employed.

Hawaii’s 3.2 percent unemployment rate last month was tied for the fifth lowest in the nation with North Dakota and Vermont. Those states trailed Colorado with 3.1 percent unemployment, Nebraska with 3.0 percent, New Hampshire with 2.6 percent and South Dakota with 2.5 percent.

The U.S. jobless rate was 5.0 percent in April.

The unemployment rate fell in Honolulu and Maui County but rose in the other two main counties in the state. State and national labor force data are adjusted for seasonal factors, but the county jobs data are not seasonally adjusted and thus do not take into account variations such as the winter holiday and summer vacation seasons.

Honolulu County’s rate fell to 2.9 percent from 3.0 percent. Maui County’s rate slipped to 3.2 percent from 3.4 percent. Hawaii County’s rate increased to 4.0 percent from 3.9 percent, and Kauai County’s rate rose to 3.6 percent from 3.5 percent.

Within Maui County, Maui’s jobless rate dropped to 3.0 percent from 3.3 percent, but Molokai’s rate increased to 5.9 percent from 5.6 percent and Lanai’s rate jumped to 9.0 percent from 5.3 percent.