Isle jobless rate
falls to 6.1%

By Russ Lynch
Star-Bulletin

All islands recorded an improvement in unemployment rates last month as the statewide jobless level eased to 6.1 percent.

The state's unemployment rate, which was better than the 6.8 percent recorded in August 1997 and the 6.3 percent in July, is still well above the national rate of 4.5 percent for August.

The state Department of Labor & Industrial Relations yesterday also reported that there were 5,100 fewer nonagricultural wage and salary jobs in Hawaii last month than in August 1997, but last month's job count fell only 200 shorter than in July.

In its monthly report, the department said there were 521,600 jobs last month, compared with 526,700 in the year-earlier month and 521,800 in July of this year.

There were 36,400 persons unemployed last month, an improvement from 40,200 in the previous August and 37,900 jobless in July.

The department said some summer jobs were lost as summer drew to a close but there were hiring increases in some sectors.

For example, a combination of some schools shifting to year-round classes and the need for summer-school help lifted the job count in the public schools last month by 1,700 above the July level. Business services employed 800 more temporary workers last month than they did in July but employment in hotels was down by 200 from the July level as hotels on Oahu and Maui felt the pinch of lower tourist arrivals.

The end of summer programs in the social services caused the loss of 1,400 jobs and private education services were down by 500 jobs, compared with July. In its island-by-island comparison, the state said Oahu had an unemployment rate of 5.2 percent last month, an improvement from 5.6 percent in August 1997. The Big Island jobless rate was 9.6 percent, from 11.4 percent a year earlier.

Kauai's rate improved to 9.1 percent from 11.5 percent; Maui's 6.3 percent was an improvement from 6.9 percent; and Molokai's 14.2 percent jobless rate, while still the highest in the state, was slightly better than the island's 14.4 percent rate in August 1997. Lanai improved to 4.2 percent from 8.2 percent.