Hawaii’s jobless rate
best in U.S.

Hawaii's unemployment rate in January was the lowest jobless rate in the nation for the second straight month, state labor officials said yesterday.

January's seasonally adjusted jobless rate was 3 percent, the same as December's rate, according to the state Department of Labor and Industrial Relations.

The national unemployment rate in January was 5.2 percent.

Hawaii's unemployment rate was either the lowest or one of the lowest in the nation throughout 2004, with an average rate of 3.4 percent. The state's January jobless rate was also lower than a year ago, when the unemployment figure was 3.6 percent.

The low rate "is a great way to start the new year, and points to a continued strong job market for our residents," state Labor Director Nelson Befitel said in a statement.

That trend is expected to continue, economists say.

"We don't have the unemployment rate rising to 4 percent in the foreseeable future," said Carl Bonham, an economist with the University of Hawaii Economic Research Organization. He predicted it would stay around or below 3.5 for the next couple of years.