KAILUA-KONA — Hawaii County’s jobless rate dropped a bit during December, data released Thursday by the state shows.
About 2.9 percent of the island’s 88,400-person workforce was without work during the month, according to the Department of Labor and Industrial Relations reports. The rate is down from 3.3 percent in November, but higher than December 2017 when unemployment stood at 2 percent.
Meanwhile, unemployment across the state increased slightly from 2.4 percent in November to 2.5 percent in December, according to the department. In December 2017, about 2.1 percent of the workforce was unemployed.
Around the state, Honolulu City and County saw its unemployment rate drop from 2.5 percent in November to 2.2 percent in December. Kauai and Maui counties also recorded unemployment decreases. Both marked 2.3-percent unemployment rates during the last month of 2018. All are up from December 2017.
Nationwide, unemployment rose from 3.7 percent in November to 3.9 percent in December. But, that’s still down from December 2017 when 4.1 percent of the nation’s workforce was without work.
In Hawaii, job growth occurred in leisure and hospitality (1,300), construction (600), education and health services (400), manufacturing (200), and other services (200), according to the department. The state attributed the significant increase in the leisure and hospitality to the resolution of labor disputes on Maui, Oahu and Kauai.
Employee contraction was reported in professional and business services (200). Government decreased by 1,400 jobs, which the department attributed to the release of general election workers.
Oh NO!
We need to raise the min wage so more people can be unemployed!!
We have 40,000 food stamp people to vote for the incumbants
=> of the 88,000 wage earners, we need more to be on the goberment paycheck
….we can’t hire all of them so theys needs to be “unemployed”!!
(just like those loafers, leeched, druggies who have “retired” here
….cuz the mayor will “take care” of them!
Use to be below 3% it was almost full employment. Now the state is looking at raising the minimum wage to $15.00 a livable wage here in Hawaii. How come we still have a large homeless population and growing. We seem to be on the path to a Socialist state on the fast track. Hook it up to seas rising and globel warming and Honolulu rail ++ a few more. Now we’re living!! some of this is ~sarc~ you pick.
YAHWEH’S POLITICAL INCORRECT MINISTRY
I was not surprised when reading this article there was no credit given to President Donald J. Trump’s economic policies for lowing the unemployment rate and increasing the employment rate.
The reason why unemployment is up a few ticks are all the people who stopped looking for work are now looking again. Viva La Trump!