State’s jobless rate hits 10-year low

Hawaii’s unemployment rate has fallen to its lowest level in nearly 10 years.

The seasonally adjusted number declined by one-tenth of a percentage point to 2.8 percent in January, matching the state’s lowest level since July 2007, according to data released Friday by the state Department of Labor and Industrial Relations.

Hawaii’s lowest unemployment rate since January 1976 — the oldest available data — was 2.4 percent, achieved from October through December 2006 and May through September 1989.

This year’s January number would have represented the sixth consecutive monthly decline in Hawaii’s unemployment rate, but at the beginning of every year, the state Labor Department revises its numbers to reflect updated population data from the U.S. Census Bureau.

Those revised numbers show the Hawaii unemployment rate was 3 percent in July, August and September and 2.9 percent in October, November and December.

The U.S. Department of Labor is not scheduled to release January unemployment rates for all states until Monday, but based on other states’ December numbers, Hawaii now would have the second-lowest unemployment rate in the nation, behind only New Hampshire at 2.7 percent.

In a sign that the downward trend of the unemployment rate may be nearing an end, the number of people in Hawaii filing initial claims for unemployment continued to rise. Initial unemployment claims in January rose by 170, or 12.5 percent, from a year ago and increased by 10.5 percent over the previous month.

Still, Hawaii’s unemployment rate has been outperforming the U.S. rate, which in January was 4.8 percent, up from 4.7 percent in December. That number was reported last month. The U.S. February unemployment rate, which was reported Friday, was 4.7 percent. Hawaii is scheduled to report its February unemployment rate March 23.

The number of nonfarm payroll jobs, which include people who might hold multiple jobs, declined by 2,000 in January to 649,900 from 651,900 the previous month. The “other services” category had the largest increase at 300 jobs while construction jobs rose by 200. The trade, transportation and utilities category had the largest job loss at 1,200. Over the past year, though, total nonfarm jobs are up by 7,300, or 1.1 percent.

In another measure of employment, the state’s labor force, which includes people who are employed and those who are unemployed but actively seeking work, increased to a record 693,550 from the previous high of 691,550 in December.

There were a record 673,850 people employed in January, up from the previous high of 671,700 the previous month. Those numbers include people who are self-employed. The number of unemployed fell to 19,700 from 19,850.

“Labor data indicate that our economy continues to perform well,” said Eugene Tian, chief economist for the state Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism. “The increase in employment is mainly due to the self-employed because the payroll jobs decreased. When we see the initial unemployment claims increase, it’s mainly due to layoffs of payroll jobs. That means the payroll portion of the labor market is not doing well, but self-employed is doing well.”

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.

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.

The unemployment rate rose in all four major counties. Honolulu County’s rate increased to 2.8 percent from 2.4 percent the previous month. Hawaii County’s rate rose to 3.4 percent from 3.1 percent. Kauai County’s rate increased to 3.1 percent from 2.8 percent. Maui County’s rate rose to 3.3 percent from 2.7 percent.

Within Maui County, Maui island’s jobless rate rose to 3.3 percent from 2.6 percent, and Lanai’s rate increased to 3.3 percent from 2 percent. Molokai’s rate fell to 4 percent from 5.3 percent.