Initial unemployment claims continue to drop

Hawaii had a total of 2,268 new unemployment claims for the week ending March 19, down 14.6 percent from the 2,655 claims filed during the same week in 2010, according to data from the state Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism.

All four counties saw decreases in new claims filed last week: Maui reported a total of 239 claims, down 52.7 percent from last year; Kauai had 167 claims for the week, down 15.2 percent from last year; Oahu saw a total of 1,241 claims, down 3.9 percent from last year; and the Big Island had a total of 566 claims, down 3.9 percent from last year.