Hawaii’s unemployment rate fell to a nearly four-year low of 5.7 percent in September as the economy added 2,300 jobs across a range of professions.
The September jobless rate was down from 6.1 percent in August and was the lowest it’s been since December 2008, according to a report released Thursday by the state Department of Labor and Industrial Relations.
The number of unemployed workers fell to 36,650 in September, a decline of 2,200. The number of employed, meanwhile, rose by 2,600 to 604,000.
Unlike the August jobs report, in which a decline in the overall labor force suggested that some of the unemployed had become discouraged and quit looking for work, the September data showed an increase in the labor force.
"That’s a very favorable report. It’s good news when the unemployment rate drops to 5.7 percent from 6.1 percent," said Leroy Laney, professor of economics and finance at Hawaii Pacific University.
"We’ve seen the unemployment rate drop in previous months because of the departure of discouraged workers. But when the labor force increases you can only attribute it to a strengthening economy," Laney said.
Nationally, the jobless rate fell to 7.8 percent in September from 8.1 percent in August. The state and national rates are adjusted for seasonal variations, such as teachers returning to work after the summer break.
County data are not seasonally adjusted. The DLIR reported that the rate in Honolulu County fell to 5 percent in September from 5.1 percent in August. The rate fell to 7.9 percent from 8.3 percent in Hawaii County, to 6.8 percent from 7 percent in Kauai County and to 6 percent from 6.1 percent in Maui County.
The unemployment rate is derived largely from a telephone survey of households. A separate poll of businesses showed that employers added 2,300 jobs statewide in September.
The biggest increase occurred in state government, where payrolls increased by 1,400 in September to 71,700 positions. Part of the increase was due to teachers and staff hired as a result of the increased enrollment in the University of Hawaii system, along with the recently opened West Oahu campus, according to the DLIR. State jobs were up by 200 from September 2011.
Employers in health care and social assistance added 900 jobs, while the leisure and hospitality industry hired an additional 800. The construction sector, which has been one of the slowest to recover from the recession, lost 400 jobs in September. The 28,600 construction jobs in September was well below the average of 39,100 per month in 2007 during the last construction boom.
Carl Bonham, director of the University of Hawaii Economic Research Organization, said there were several positive signs in the data.
He said the growth in the labor force was encouraging given that it has contracted for most of the year. He also noted that the gain in leisure and hospitality jobs means the sector has nearly recovered all the jobs it lost during the recession.
