State unemployment up slightly from last month

The state’s unemployment rate moved up a smidgen in June from May’s all-time low of 2 percent.

But the state’s labor market continued to remain strong in June as the seasonally adjusted jobless rate decreased to 2.1 percent from the 2.4 percent measure attained in June 2017, according to data released Thursday by the state Department of Labor and Industrial Relations.

Some 673,400 people were employed statewide in June with just 14,150 unemployed. That means 200 more people were unemployed last month in Hawaii than were unemployed in May when the number of unemployed people fell to 13,950 — the lowest level since November 1989, when there were 13,550 unemployed.

Hawaii’s nonagricultural jobs declined by 500, to 663,100 from May but, in comparison with June 2017, increased by 9,800, or 1.5 percent. Education and health led the job expansion by adding 1,200 positions over the month. Jobs in the construction sector remained unchanged, and government jobs were stable, but there were job losses in hospitality and leisure, financial activities, information, manufacturing and trade, transportation and utilities.

Still, there were 2,000 fewer unemployed people in Hawaii this June than in June 2017.

Hawaii’s labor market continues to perform much better than the nation’s, which had a seasonally adjusted unemployment rate of 4 percent in June compared with 4.3 percent in June 2017. The nationwide unemployment in June rose slightly from May when it was 3.8 percent, an 18-year low.