Maui County unemployment in February was 3.2 percent

Unemployment in Maui County was 3.2 percent in February, level with every other county except for Hawaii island at 3.5 percent, according to data released Thursday by the state Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism.

While the jobless rate on Maui island was on par with the rest of the state at 3.2 percent, Molokai’s unemployment was higher at 4.8 percent, while Lanai’s was lower at 2 percent. The rates for all three islands are still lower than they were a year ago.

The statewide unemployment rate was 3.2 percent, just below the U.S. rate of 3.9 percent.

The data was not seasonally adjusted, meaning it did not take into account seasonal hiring and layoff patterns. A seasonally adjusted breakdown was not available by county.

Unemployment across the state in February showed little change from a year ago as the local economy has steadied in the wake of the pandemic.

The size of the labor force has grown by nearly 10,000 since February 2022, when there were 668,800 workers. In February of this year, there were 678,450 workers, with 654,150 employed and 24,250 unemployed, both higher totals than a year ago.

While the labor force decreased slightly from January, when there were 679,100 workers, the total number of nonagricultural jobs in the state increased by 3,700 from January to February.

Jobs were up by 500 in education and health services, up by 300 in leisure and hospitality, up by 100 in information and up by 100 in financial activities. The biggest job losses occurred in construction, which went down by 800, as well as the professional and business services sector, which saw a decline of 200. Jobs in other services went down by 100.

Government employment went up by 3,800 jobs, mostly due to a larger-than-typical seasonal recall of workers in the state Department of Education.