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State unemployment rate holds at 2.1% for sixth straight month

Hawaii’s unemployment rate, the lowest in the nation, held firm in March at 2.1 percent for the sixth month in a row as employers added 200 jobs.

The seasonally adjusted rate continued to match the all-time low for the state. And the number of unemployed in the labor force equaled the lowest level since there were 14,050 unemployed in December 1989, according to data released today by the state Department of Labor and Industrial Relations. The all-time low was 12,550 in June 1989.

Among the major industries, leisure and hospitality recorded the largest increase in jobs at 600 while the trade, transportation and utilities category was next at 500. The construction sector, which has been a bellwether in the improving economy, lost 700 jobs to 35,900 from 36,600. The peak level in construction jobs was 39,600 in December 2007. Since the end of the 18-month recession in June 2009, the highest level was 38,400 in July 2016

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