Hawaii jobless rate hits record-low 2%

Hawaii’s jobless rate fell to an all-time low in November and likely will remain the lowest in the nation.

The seasonally adjusted unemployment rate dropped to 2 percent from the previous record of 2.2 percent the previous month, according to data released Thursday by the state Department of Labor and Industrial Relations.

The 2 percent jobless number is the lowest rate on record under current methodology dating back to 1976.

However, the pool of workers has gotten smaller. There were 670,300 employed last month compared with 671,400 in October, while the jobless totaled 14,000 compared with 15,150. The entire labor force, which includes people who are employed, those who are unemployed but actively seeking work, and those who are self-­employed, declined to 684,350 from 686,600.

So far this year the state has lost about 13,000 people to the mainland, said Eugene Tian, chief economist for the state Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism.

“(That’s) because the U.S. economy is booming,” he said. “They got a lot of opportunities on the mainland. The cost of living in Hawaii continues to be increasing, so people are leaving for lower-cost housing and better job opportunities. The people moving out reduce (the number of) people looking for jobs.”

Nationally, the jobless rate held steady at 4.1 percent in November, the same as in October. The U.S. Department of Labor will release unemployment data today for all states when it will be determined whether Hawaii was able to hold onto to its position as having the lowest unemployment rate. In October, North Dakota was second at 2.5 percent.

For nonfarm payroll jobs, which is determined by a different study, the number of jobs in November fell by 1,300 over the previous month.

Construction jobs showed the biggest gain with an increase of 800, while government employment saw the biggest drop with a decline of 1,500 jobs resulting from the absence of the biennial seasonal general election workers.

“We have the best labor market from the employment rate point of view,” Tian said. “At the same time, we do see some industries are not performing well.”

Industries that have been struggling this year include wholesale, financial, manufacturing and transportation.

Unemployment rose in the four main counties, whose jobs data are not seasonally adjusted and do not take into account variations such as the winter holiday and summer vacation seasons.

Honolulu’s rate increased to 1.9 percent from 1.8 percent, the Big Island rose to 2.4 percent from 2.3 percent, Kauai’s rate climbed to 2 percent from 1.8 percent and Maui County inched up to 2.1 percent from 2 percent. Within Maui County, Maui island’s rate went up to 2 percent from 1.9 percent while Molokai’s rate was unchanged at 5.2 percent and Lanai’s rate decreased to 1.6 percent from 2.4 percent.