Hawaii’s unemployment rate held steady at 2.2 percent in December, according to the state Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism (DBEDT). This figure matches November’s rate and remains significantly lower than the national average, which was 4.4 percent in December.
The seasonally adjusted labor force in Hawaii totaled 689,250 people last month, with 674,050 employed and 15,200 unemployed. The not-seasonally adjusted unemployment rate for Hawaii also stood at 2.2 percent in December, a slight decrease from November’s 2.4 percent.
Nonagricultural payroll jobs decreased by 100 from November to December. Sectors that saw job gains included Trade, Transportation & Utilities (+400), Construction (+200), Professional & Business Services (+200), and Other Services (+100). Employment remained unchanged in Information and Leisure & Hospitality sectors. Manufacturing, Financial Activities, and Private Education & Health Services each lost about 100 jobs. Government employment dropped by 700 positions due mainly to reductions at the Department of Education, the University of Hawai‘i system, and several other state departments.
Despite the monthly decline, nonfarm jobs increased by 7,400 year over year—a growth of about 1.1 percent statewide.
The DBEDT noted that both state and U.S. unemployment rates are seasonally adjusted following U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) methodology to account for regular fluctuations such as holiday hiring or summer layoffs.
The department explained: “The seasonal fluctuations in the number of employed and unemployed persons reflect hiring and layoff patterns that accompany regular events such as the winter holiday season and the summer vacation season… Seasonally adjusted statistical series enable more meaningful data comparisons between months or with an annual average.”
Unemployment statistics are generated through two separate surveys: one focused on households to determine employment status during a specific week each month; another surveying businesses for industry job counts.
Statewide labor force data for previous years have been revised based on updated population controls and model re-estimation covering data from as far back as 1990 through to 2024.
Responsibility for producing monthly employment estimates shifted from individual state agencies to BLS beginning with preliminary March 2011 estimates—a move intended to improve cost efficiency and reduce potential bias in state-level data production.
According to DBEDT: “For Hawai‘i, this means the transition of statewide, Honolulu and Kahului-Wailuku MSA estimates for both the seasonally adjusted and not-seasonally adjusted areas are produced by BLS.” State agencies continue providing local event information affecting employment figures but no longer generate official estimates themselves.
Not-seasonally adjusted job numbers for Hawaii County, Kaua‘i County, Maui, Moloka‘i and Lāna‘i remain under DBEDT’s purview. Labor force estimates within Maui County islands are also produced locally by DBEDT.
Smoothed civilian labor force figures for metropolitan areas like Honolulu City/County or Maui County are published monthly by BLS alongside their national reports (see http://www.bls.gov/news.release/metro.toc.htm).
Six alternative measures of labor underutilization—ranging from long-term unemployment rates (U-1) to broader definitions including discouraged workers—are compiled using four-quarter moving averages based on Current Population Survey data.
