Hawaii’s unemployment rate was 6.3 percent in July, unchanged from June, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today.

The size of Hawaii’s labor force, which includes both employed and unemployed workers, fell by 1,700 to 634,700 in July. The number of unemployed edged down by 100 to 40,300.

The fact that the workforce is shrinking while the unemployment rate is holding steady indicates that some discouraged job hunters may have dropped out of the labor force and are no longer being counted among the officially unemployed.

The rate was the sixth lowest in the country, ahead of Kansas at 6.5 percent and behind Vermont at 6 percent.
Hawaii was one of 18 instates  the country that had no change in the jobless rate in July. Another 18 states and the District of Columbia reported decreases in their unemployment rates,  while 14 states registered increases, according to the BLS.