LIHUE — Hawaii’s jobless rate fell to a 10-year low of 2.6 percent last month. The state Department of Labor and Industrial Relations said Thursday the seasonally adjusted unemployment rate fell 0.1 percentage point from July. The rate was last
LIHUE — Hawaii’s jobless rate fell to a 10-year low of 2.6 percent last month.
The state Department of Labor and Industrial Relations said Thursday the seasonally adjusted unemployment rate fell 0.1 percentage point from July. The rate was last this low in April 2007.
The jobless rate on Kauai was 2.3 percent in August, down from 2.4 percent in July, and from 3.1 percent in August last year.
Department Director Linda Chu Takayama says a 2.6 percent jobless rate means Hawaii is essentially at full employment. That’s when nearly everyone who wants a job has one. The jobless rate under full employment reflects mostly a temporary churn of job losses and gains.
Nationally, the seasonally adjusted unemployment rate was 4.4 percent in August.
The state says the construction industry and temporary worker sector added jobs. Jobs declined in transportation, utilities and retail.
•••
Associated Press