Categorized | Business

Unemployment rate at 6.2 percent for August

MEDIA RELEASE

The state Department of Labor & Industrial Relations has announced the seasonally adjusted unemployment rate for August was 6.2 percent, a 0.1 percentage point increase from 6.1 percent in July.

There were 592,950 employed and 39,300 unemployed in August, for a total seasonally adjusted labor force of 632,250. Nationally, the seasonally adjusted unemployment rate remained unchanged at 9.1 percent in August.

The unemployment rate figures for the State of Hawaii and the U.S. in this release are seasonally adjusted, in accordance with the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) methodology. The not seasonally adjusted rate for the State increased to 6.5 percent in August from 6.4 percent in July.

Industry Payroll Employment (Establishment Survey)

In another measure of employment, total seasonally adjusted nonagricultural jobs decreased by 5,100 jobs or -0.9 percent to 590,200 jobs from July to August. The vast bulk of the job losses occurred in Government (-5,700), more specifically in the Department of Education, with the contraction primarily due to a sharp staffing decline of the year-round school session, which until recently had historically not taken place in the July-August period.

Among major private industry groups, job gains were experienced in Education & Health Services (+600), Construction (+400), Financial Activities (+200), and Professional & Business Services (+200).

Job losses occurred in Leisure & Hospitality (-300), Other Services (-300), and Trade, Transportation, & Utilities (-400). In comparison with August 2010, total seasonally adjusted nonagricultural jobs have gone up by 8,400, or +1.4 percent, with the largest job expansion in Education & Health Services (+4,200), Professional & Business Services (+3,200), Leisure & Hospitality (+1,500), and Construction (+1,100).

* Education & Health Services (+600)
Growth in this industry grouping came from the Health Services sector, with a rise in jobs in Health Care (Ambulatory Health Care Services and Nursing & Residential Care Facilities), as well as in Social Assistance (Individual and Family Services).

* Construction (+400)
Within construction, gains in employment were concentrated in power and communication line and related structures construction, electrical contractors, drywall and insulation contractors, and site preparation contractors.

* Financial Activities (+200)
The majority of the expansion of this industry occurred in Real Estate & Rental & Leasing. In August, Financial Activities rebounded to the 27,000-level for the first time since December 2010.

* Professional & Business Services (+200)
Job increases in this grouping were spread out over numerous industry sectors, most notably temporary help services and professional employer organizations.

* Leisure & Hospitality (-300)
Most of the decline in took place in Accommodation & Food Services, more specifically in Food Services & Drinking Places.

* Other Services (-300)
Over the past twelve months, this industry grouping of miscellaneous services has been very stable; showing little deviation from the 26,500-level.

* Trade, Transportation, & Utilities (-400)
Within this large grouping of industries, job losses were experienced in Wholesale Trade and Transportation & Warehousing

* Government (-5,700)
A decline in staffing for the year-round school session at the Department of Education, not typically in August in past years until recently, was primarily responsible for the decrease in public sector employment. Secondarily, there was the sizable release of summer workers after heavy summer program hiring at the Research Corporation of the University of Hawaii.

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