Hawai‘i unemployment rate, 2.4%, is second lowest in U.S.

During April, Hawai‘i’s unemployment rate was lower than every other state’s except Montana’s, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Montana’s jobless rate was 2.2 percent. In California, unemployment was at 5.1 percent and nationally the rate was 4.5 percent.

To some degree, the low unemployment rate in Hawai'i is reflected by the number of jobs posted on the HANO Job Bank – more than three dozen at the time of this writing – as nonprofits throughout the state are having difficulty filling vacant positions.

Hawai‘i’s rate remained near the bottom of the scale despite job losses from March to April, which the state Department of Labor and Industrial Relations attributed mostly to government jobs lost during the intersessional break in public education.

Without seasonal adjustment, the U.S. Labor Department counted 638,700 jobs in Hawaii in March and 15,600 unemployed. This was 12,300 more jobs than last year. Adjusted seasonally, DLIR estimates a year-over year gain of 8,500 jobs

There are approximately 120,000 jobs in government, 109,400 jobs in leisure and hospitality, 50,000 in nonprofits and 37,500 jobs in construction. The sectors with the largest job gains were construction (2,200 jobs), leisure and hospitality (2,200 jobs) and health services (1,800 jobs).