Despite Hawaii's well-documented high cost of living, the number of local workers holding two or more jobs stayed relatively flat as the recession played out.

The percentage of Hawaii workers holding multiple jobs dropped to 8.1 percent from 8.2 percent in 2008 from the previous year, according to a report released yesterday by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Hawaii ranked ninth among U.S. states.

“;The number of workers in Hawaii with more than one job had been increasing since 2006 due to the rising cost of living,”; said Tom Zhu, BLS economist.

Multiple jobholder rates in Hawaii have historically been high and well above the national average, said Andrew Kato, a University of Hawaii Economic Research Corp. specialist.

“;More people here are trying to cover expenses, pay off debts or augment their income,”; Kato said. “;The primary motivation for working multiple jobs is money, and it's no secret that the cost of living is high here.”;

Nationally, 5.2 percent of all workers held multiple jobs in 2008, BLS said of the most recent available data. Twenty-four other states in addition to Hawaii experienced increases in people working multiple jobs, Zhu said. Front-runners were Nebraska, North Dakota and South Dakota, he said.

Since Hawaii layoffs did not ramp up until the last quarter of 2008, the number of multiple job holders is expected to continue growing, said Judy Bishop, owner of Bishop & Co., a Honolulu-based staffing company.

“;In 2008 we came off of three years of full employment, so people didn't need multiple jobs because they had one good job,”; Bishop said. “;In 2009 no one could even get a part-time job.”;

As Hawaii's unemployment rate rose, jobs may have become harder to find, Zhu said.

As Hawaii's economy improves, part-time and temporary jobs will pick up first, Bishop said.

“;Most would prefer one good job over multiple jobs, but people will take what they can get,”; she said.

There's been a slight uptick in the number of Hawaii companies creating temporary and part-time jobs; however, many will turn to former employees to fill that void, she said.

“;They like to bring back the workers that they laid off first,”; Bishop said.

As a result, competition for jobs continues to be fierce, said Beth Busch, president of Success Advertising Hawaii, which runs Job Quest, the state's largest job fair.

About 5,000 job seekers are expected to attend the next Job Quest, which takes place tomorrow from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. at Neal Blaisdell Center.

“;In a bad economy you see people getting more than one job because they have to,”; Busch said. “;It's better to have a part-time job or two part-time jobs than nothing at all.”;