State leads the nation in job growth in July

Hawaii posted the largest month-to-month percentage increase in employment in the U.S. in July to end the month with a jobless rate of 6.1 percent. Hawaii reported 595,600 jobs in July, 6,700 more than in June, according to statistics released Aug. 19 by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Bureau of Labor Statistics. However, there are still 38,400 people out of work in the state.

Meanwhile, the city of Honolulu’s unemployment rate fell to 5.4 percent in July, down a half of a percentage point from July 2010, according to federal labor statistics.

Hawaii’s 1.1 percent gain in job count was the best among the 31 states that reported increases, the BLS said. The gain helped the state’s jobless rate for July improve to 6.1 percent, compared to 6.6 percent in July 2010. Nationally, the jobless rate was 9.1 percent in July.

The number of people filing initial unemployment insurance claims in Hawaii fell 8.7 percent during the week of Aug. 20 compared to a year ago, according to the state Department of Business, Economic Development & Tourism.

There were 1,703 initial claims filed during the week of Aug. 20, an 8.7 percent decrease from 1,865 a year ago, state officials said Aug. 25.

Each of the four counties saw double-digit drops from 2010.

• Oahu had 884 claims, the lowest number in four months and a 16 percent decrease from 1,053 claims filed during the same week in 2010.
• Hawaii County had 339 claims, a 16.2 percent decrease from 394 claims in 2010.
• Maui County had 221 claims, a 10.5 percent decline from 247 claims in 2010.
• Kauai County had 133 claims, a 17.4 percent drop from 161 claims in 2010.