The Hawai‘i State Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism (DBEDT) released figures holding the state's unemployment rate steady at 2.9 percent for August, marking no change for the third month in a row. To compare, the national unemployment rate slightly dipped to 4.2 percent in August from 4.3 percent the previous month. Hawai‘i's stable rate comes amidst a national trend of decreasing unemployment numbers.
In employment specifics, Hawai‘i saw a mixed bag. Professional & Business Services witnessed an upswing, adding 800 jobs, alongside 600 in Leisure & Hospitality, 200 in Private Education & Health Services, and 100 in Other Services. Conversely, losses were to be felt across Construction, Information, Financial Activities, and Trade, Transportation & Utilities, which together dropped by a total of 1,400 jobs. The government sector too, primarily from the Department of Education's seasonal layoffs, shed 1,500 positions. Year-over-year stats actually reveal a 0.9 percent increase in nonfarm jobs—a rise of 5,400 jobs since August 2023—but still, we languish below March 2020 levels by 18,300 jobs or a 2.8 percent decrease.
Delving deeper, the methodologies used to arrive at these statistics were elaborated upon. According to the DBEDT, labor force data is seasonally adjusted to iron out inherent fluctuations, thereby providing a clearer economic snapshot. Furthermore, the employment status of Hawai‘i's populace is gauged using the Current Population (Household) Survey, which reaches out to roughly 1,000 Hawai‘i households monthly.
Beyond the standard unemployment rate—termed U-3 by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics—there exist alternate labor underutilization measures. The U-6 metric, for instance, encompasses the broader scope of unemployment by including marginally attached workers and those employed part-time for economic reasons, offering a wider lens on labor market conditions. And to ensure the most accurate data, the BLS has taken over responsibility for producing state and metropolitan area employment estimates, purportedly to better the CES program's cost efficiency and to minimize bias within the data—a transition that began with March 2011 figures.
With all these measures in place, Hawai‘i's not-seasonally adjusted unemployment rate was slightly higher at 3.2 percent in August, up from 3.0 percent in July, as noted in the official report on the Office of the Governor.
