Hawaii’s June unemployment rate exceeds 7%

The U.S. Department of Labor reported on July 17 that the unemployment rate for the state of Hawaii was 7.4 percent in June. That figure represents 47,000 unemployed people and remained unchanged from May.

Meanwhile, the national unemployment rate averaged 9.5 percent in June. Federal officials expect the rate to exceed 10 percent later this year, as it already has in 15 states and the District of Columbia. Michigan had the nation’s highest unemployment rate at 15.2 percent.

Broken down by county, according to the Hawaii Department of Labor and Industrial Relations:

• Honolulu’s June unemployment rate was 6.9 percent, up 2.8 percentage points from a year ago. This was the highest rate recorded in Honolulu since 1990.
• Maui’s rate was 9.7 percent, up 5.4 percentage points from June 2008. Molokai’s rate was 17.6 percent, up 5.8 percentage points and Lanai’s was 11.4 percent, up 5.9 percentage points.
• Kauai saw 11.1 percent, up 6.6 percentage points.
• The Big Island of Hawaii’s rate was 11.5 percent, up 5.5 percentage points.