7.1% March Hawaii jobless rate is highest since 1978

The unemployment rate in Hawaii hit 7.1 percent in March, which was up from 6.5 percent in February and four percentage points from March 2008. The jobless rate soared to its highest level since February 1978, when 7.1 percent of workers were out of jobs.

25,300 more people were out of work in March this year than last in Hawaii, U.S. Department of Labor said Friday. Kauai’s jobless rate more than tripled from 3.1 percent to 10.3 percent over the year. Molokai had the state’s highest unemployment rate at 12.7 percent, up from 5.4 percent a year ago. Maui County’s jobless rate jumped from 3.3 percent in March 2008 to 9 percent in March 2009. On the Big Island, the rate rose from 4 percent to 10.2 percent.

Oahu had the state’s lowest rate at 5.8 percent but it was still more than double the rate from March 2009, when it was 2.6 percent.

There were 644,900 people in the work force and 45,800 people without jobs in March. Hawaii’s jobless rate is still below the national figure, which rose to 8.5 percent in March, up from 8.1 percent in February. California’s rate was 11.2 percent.

Hawaii had five “mass layoffs” in March, down from 15 in February. The layoffs resulted in the loss of 376 jobs for at least 31 days, according to the U.S. Department of Labor on Thursday. Some of the layoffs in March included 236 workers at Hawaii Superferry. In March 2008, there were four mass layoff events that resulted in the loss of 304 jobs.

A mass layoff is when there are 50 or more initial claims for unemployment insurance benefits from one employer during a five-week period, with at least 50 workers separated for more than 30 days.

Nationwide there were 2,933 mass layoffs in March that resulted in the separation of 299,388 workers from their jobs for at least 31 days, seasonally adjusted. Seasonal adjustment is the process of estimating and removing the effect of regularly recurring seasonal events such as changes in the weather, holidays and the beginning and ending of the school year. The Department of Labor does not specify where the layoffs occurred.