KAILUA-KONA — At a greater clip than they have in nearly a decade, Hawaii residents are rolling out of bed to the shrill shriek of an alarm clock marking the start of a workday rather than to the disquiet of
KAILUA-KONA — At a greater clip than they have in nearly a decade, Hawaii residents are rolling out of bed to the shrill shriek of an alarm clock marking the start of a workday rather than to the disquiet of a silent job market.
Hawaii’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate dropped from 3.2 percent in October to 3 percent in November, the lowest figure the state has seen since October 2007 when 3 percent of the state’s workforce was unemployed, according to numbers released by the Department of Labor and Industrial Relations last week.
Hawaii’s unadjusted unemployment rate actually saw a slightly larger decline, falling from 3.1 percent in October to 2.8 percent in November. Seasonal adjustments are necessary to accurately measure month-to-month unemployment rates while taking into account common hiring and firing patterns dictated by annual events, such as holiday periods and summer vacations, the report stated.
Of the main Hawaiian Islands, the Big Island’s unadjusted rate fell the most between October and November, from 3.8 percent to 3.4 percent.
According to state data, the last time Hawaii Island’s unadjusted unemployment rate was lower than 3.4 percent was in May 2007, when it came in at 3.3 percent. The highest unemployment rate in the county over the last decade came in June 2009, amid the Great Recession, when 11.2 percent of the island was out of work.
Still, the 3.4-percent figure is the highest among the counties, which DLIR spokesman Bill Kunstman said has been a common trend for several years. During November, Honolulu City and County’s rate was 2.7 percent, Kauai County’s was 3.1 percent and Maui County’s was 3 percent.
In Maui County, Molokai’s unadjusted unemployment rate was by far the highest among all the islands in November at 7.1 percent, another common trend, Kunstman said.
“Hawaii County and Molokai traditionally have had higher unemployment rates, especially with the passage of the sugar industries,” he explained. “And if you look at a number of different socioeconomic measures, unfortunately, the Big Island comes out on top on a number of those. I think the Big Island’s economy is certainly not as healthy and complex as say (those on) Oahu or Maui.”
Hawaii’s unadjusted unemployment rate was bolstered by the addition of 2,000 nonagricultural jobs statewide over the course of the month. The increase occurred despite the departure of 1,200 jobs from the leisure and hospitality sector — one of the state’s most robust areas, employing well over 100,000 people — during the same time period.
“That’s sort of a large decrease over the month, but the overall trend has been increasing,” said Kunstman, noting that jobs in the hospitality sector are up 5,000 across Hawaii since November 2015.
Another factor contributing to rosier job prospects in November was an increase of 3,000 government positions, the most heavily staffed employment sector in Hawaii. The DLIR report indicated the spike was tied to an increase in temporary workers hired to help manage the general election.
Even though many of those positions will disappear, the state job market in its entirety is still trending upward, as total nonagricultural jobs in Hawaii are up 15,700 since November 2015 — a 2.5-percent bump.
