November unemployment unchanged at 6.5 percent

The Hawaii economy added 500 jobs in November, but the state’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate of 6.5 percent remained unchanged from October, according to data from the state’s Department of Labor and Industrial Relations.

Professional and business services and the education and health service sector showed the biggest job gains in November, expanding by 700 and 500 jobs, respectively. Those gains were offset by losses in construction, transportation and utilities. Statewide, the civilian labor force totaled 597,900 in November. Year-to-date, the Hawaii economy has added 4,600 jobs.

Statewide initial unemployment claims dropped 5.6 percent last week, the Hawaii’s Department of Business, Economic Development & Tourism said Dec. 22. The department reported there was 1,910 initial jobless claims filed statewide in the week ending Dec. 17, down from 2,024 claims filed in the same period last year.

The Big Island had 294 initial jobless claims last week, a 20.1 percent drop from 368 claims last year. Kauai saw initial filings decrease 44.3 percent last week to 103 claims, down from 185 last year, and Maui County saw a decrease of 11.2 percent — from 349 claims in 2010 to 310 claims this year. Oahu was the only county that saw more claims filed last week when compared to the same period in 2010. Claims rose 8.5 percent to 1,138 filings, up from 1,049 claims filed last year.

The number of initial unemployment claims in Hawaii has fallen since the recession, but the rate of decline has slowed recently and is unlikely to improve because of the local job market. The Honolulu Star-Advertiser reports that claims are likely to rise in the next few weeks because of the closure of Hawaii Medical Center's two Oahu hospitals, which will leave nearly 1,000 people out of work.