State jobless rate
fell to 5.7% in
October

Employers, however,
had 6,100 fewer jobs available
than last year

By Russ Lynch
Star-Bulletin

Hawaii had 34,050 people unemployed last month, 900 fewer than the 34,950 unemployed in October 1997, according to the latest monthly report from the state Department of Labor and Industrial Relations.

The unemployment rate in October was 5.7 percent, down from 5.9 percent in the year-earlier month, but was still above the national jobless rate of 4.2 percent.

While the jobless rate improved, the department's separate survey of employers asking how many people they have on the payroll showed a slip. Employers had 522,700 jobs last month, down 6,100 from 528,800 in the year-earlier month.

Economists consider the number of jobs a more important indicator of the health of the economy than the unemployment rate because it shows what business and government employers are doing, while the unemployment rate comes from a much smaller house-to-house sampling.

On a month-to-month comparison, October's job count was better than September's, with 3,300 more jobs.

In its report on each sector of the economy, the department each month compares the latest job count only with the count for the previous month, not the year-earlier month. The biggest factor as fall begins usually is education. This year, state education added 4,500 jobs since September and private schools added 600.

There also were gains over September of 200 jobs in miscellaneous services, 100 in business services and 100 in finance, insurance and real estate combined.

However, the end of summer youth programs cost 600 jobs in government, private construction was down by 500 jobs and manufacturing, transportation and retailing each lost 200.