Hawaii continues to rank among the nation’s top states for low unemployment.
The seasonally adjusted jobless rate in April remained at 2.9% for the second straight month after holding at 3.0% for the previous eight months, according to data released last week from the state Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism.
In addition, Hawaii’s nonagriculture year-over-year payroll job growth rate at 2.7% was the highest in the nation in April.
“April labor data shows that Hawaii has one of the best labor markets in the nation,” DBEDT state Chief Economist Eugene Tian said via email. “Compared with April 2019, Hawaii’s labor force and employment in April 2025 were fully recovered to the same levels in April 2019.”
Tian, 68, who is retiring effective Sunday after 33 years with DBEDT — 15 years as chief economist — said the state agency expects “slowing down in job growth for the rest of the year, mainly caused by the reduction in federal employment, reduction in federal grants, and slowing down in tourism. For the year as a whole, we still expect job growth at around 1.0%.”
Hawaii’s 2.9% unemployment rate in April ranked behind only South Dakota, 1.8%; North Dakota, 2.6%; and Vermont and Montana, both at 2.7%, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Tian said two factors are keeping Hawaii’s unemployment rate steady.
“More people are joining the labor force,” he said. “We saw the labor force participation rate increase or be stable in the last 10 months. Also, more people have found jobs. Most Hawaii industries have gained jobs in the past year.”
The state’s labor force, which includes those who are employed, those who are unemployed but actively seeking work and those who are self-employed, increased to 688,300 in April from 686,450 in March.
Those employed edged up to 668,650 from 666,600, while the number of people unemployed decreased to 19,650 from 19,850.
Tian said federal layoffs that were spearheaded by the Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE, already have occurred among federal government jobs in Hawaii.
“In April, the federal civilian job count was 34,800, the lowest since February 2023, and a decrease of 1,000 jobs from April 2024,” Tian said. “However, we saw the job count increase in state government year over year.
“State government has been having a high vacancy rate. I believe some of the federal workers may have found jobs in the state government. From the initial unemployment claims data, we did not see an increase in unemployment claims. The average weekly initial unemployment claims for the first 20 weeks of 2025 (through May 17) was at 1,043, lower than the 1,059 during the same period in 2019.”
Tian said federal civilian employees should claim unemployment benefits with the state Department of Labor and Industrial Relations if they were laid off in Hawaii.
Nationally, the unemployment rate in April held at 4.2%.
Hawaii’s nonfarm payrolls, calculated from a mail survey of employers, increased by 1,500 in April from March. The leisure and hospitality sector showed the largest increase at 1,900 with private education and health services next with a gain of 1,100.
Meanwhile, the unemployment rate was mixed in the state’s four major counties from March. State and national labor force data is adjusted for seasonal factors, but the county jobs data is not seasonally adjusted and thus does not take into account variations such as the winter holiday and summer vacation seasons.
Honolulu County’s rate rose to 2.4% from 2.3%, Hawaii County inched up to 2.8% from 2.7%, Kauai County increased to 2.3% from 2.2% and Maui County held at 3.0%. Within Maui County, Maui’s rate remained at 3.0%, Molokai’s rate dipped to 2.0% from 2.1% and Lanai’s rate rose to 4.9% from 3.5%.
HOLDING STEADY
The seasonally adjusted unemployment rate over the past year:
HAWAII
April 2025 2.9%
March 2025 2.9%
February 2025 3.0%
March 2025 2.9%
January 2025 3.0%
December 2024 3.0%
November 2024 3.0%
October 2024 3.0%
September 2024 3.0%
August 2024 3.0%
July 2024 3.0%
June 2024 2.9%
May 2024 2.9%
April 2024 2.9%
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U.S.
April 2025 4.2%
March 2025 4.2%
February 2025 4.1%
January 2025 4.0%
December 2024 4.1%
November 2024 4.2%
October 2024 4.1%
September 2024 4.1%
August 2024 4.2%
July 2024 4.2%
June 2024 4.1%
May 2024 4.0%
April 2024 3.9%
Source: State Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism; U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
