Honolulu’s December jobless rate declines to 5.3 percent

Honolulu’s jobless rate dipped to 5.3 percent in December, down from 5.8 percent in November, according to the latest preliminary figures from the U.S. Department of Labor released Feb. 2. Despite the decline, the rate remained higher than the 4.2 percent posted in December 2008.

There were 23,600 people out of work in Honolulu in December, up from 19,100 in December 2008, the Labor Department reported. Honolulu lost 13,400 nonagricultural jobs between December 2008 and December 2009, a 2.9 percent drop from the 454,400 jobs available a year ago.

The national unemployment rate in December was 9.7 percent, not seasonally adjusted, up from 7.1 percent a year earlier. Unemployment rates for December were higher than they were a year ago in all but one of the 372 metropolitan areas covered in the U.S. Department of Labor’s monthly survey.

More Hawaii mass layoffs in January than December

Hawaii reported nine “mass layoffs” in January, up from seven recorded for December 2009 but fewer than the 14 recorded in January a year ago, according to preliminary data released on Feb. 23 by the U.S. Department of Labor.

The layoffs resulted in the loss of 735 Hawaii jobs in January, as measured by new claims for unemployment insurance during the month. That means more people filed for unemployment as a result of mass layoffs in January than in December 2009, when there were 637 new claims, but fewer than a year ago when 998 new claims were filed due to mass layoffs.

Nationwide, there were 1,761 mass layoffs that resulted in the loss of 182,261 jobs in January, the Labor Department said. That was down from the 2,279 mass layoffs that resulted in the loss of 251,807 jobs a year ago. The national unemployment rate was 9.7 percent in January while Hawaii’s jobless rate was hovering at 6.9 percent.

The Labor Department defines a mass layoff as occurring 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. California continued to post the most mass layoffs of any state with 533 that resulted in 46,474 new unemployment claims in January.