Hawaii’s jobless rate drops to 6.6 percent in May

Hawaii’s unemployment rate dipped to 6.6 percent in May from 6.7 percent in April and 6.9 percent a year ago, according to the latest seasonally adjusted figures released June 18 by the U.S. Department of Labor.

Hawaii had 41,700 people out of work in May out of a labor force of 636,800. It added 1,700 jobs between April and May to bring the state’s total number of non-agricultural jobs to 592,800.

Hawaii County, which covers the Big Island, recorded the highest jobless rate statewide with 9.7 percent in May, according to the state Department of Labor and Industrial Relations, which released non-seasonally adjusted jobless figures for the respective counties.

Kauai County’s jobless rate was 8.5 percent, followed closely by Maui County with 8.2 percent. The City and County of Honolulu, which covers all of Oahu, had a jobless rate of 5.2 percent in May.

Hawaii’s jobless rate is still well below the national rate, which stood at 9.7 percent in May, according to the U.S. Department of Labor. A year ago, the national jobless rate was 9.4 percent. Nevada unseated Michigan as the state logging the highest unemployment rate in the nation, at 14 percent. Michigan — which has consistently recorded the nation’s highest unemployment rate since April 2006 — followed closely with 13.6 percent, while California and Rhode Island were third and fourth with 12.4 percent and 12.3 percent, respectively.

Meanwhile, North Dakota continued to register the nation’s lowest unemployment rate at 3.6 percent in May. It was followed by South Dakota with 4.6 percent and Nebraska with 4.9 percent. The figures were preliminary and may be revised later by the U.S. Department of Labor.

Despite this improvement, Hawaii’s initial unemployment claims increased by 2.8 percent in early June. The Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism released a report on June 17 showing that a total of 2,576 claims were filed in the past week, compared to 2,505 during the same week in 2009.

Oahu topped the state with 138 more claims filed, bringing its total to 1,380, an increase of 11.1 percent. The Big Island saw 44 more claims, bringing its total to 535, an increase of 9.0 percent. Maui and Kauai both saw decreases in filings. Maui was down to 407 claims, a decrease of 17.1 percent, and Kauai dropped to 171 claims, a decrease of 19.7 percent.

Honolulu continues to enjoy one of the lowest unemployment rates of the 372 cities reported by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. The data, not seasonally adjusted, show Honolulu’s May rate of 5.2 percent is tied with Billings, Mont., as the 14th lowest, the bureau reported. Honolulu’s rate was 5.6 percent a year earlier. Bismarck, N.D., had the lowest unemployment rate of the cities monitored, at 3.6 percent. El Centro, Calif., at 27.9 percent, was the highest.