Maui unemployment rate drops to 3.1% in January 2023

Maui’s January unemployment rate dropped to 3.1% in January 2023, down from 3.3% in December and dow 3.6% from a year ago. The data was compiled by the state Department of Business Economic Development and Tourism in an updated report on labor, employment, and unemployment.

Molokaʻi continues to have the highest unemployment rate in the state at 3.6%, which is down from 3.9% in December, and down from 3.8% at the same time last year. Lānaʻi had the lowest unemployment rate in the state at 2.0%, which is up from 1.1% in December, and down from 5.4% at the same time last year.

The state’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate for January was 3.6%, compared to the revised rate of 3.7% in December. In January, 654,450 persons were employed and 24,650 were unemployed, for a total seasonally adjusted labor force of 679,050 statewide.

Nationally, the seasonally adjusted unemployment rate was 3.4% in January, down from 3.5% in December.

The unemployment rate figures for the State of Hawaiʻi and the US are seasonally adjusted, in accordance with the US Bureau of Labor Statistics methodology. The not seasonally adjusted rate for the State was 3.1% in January, compared to the revised rate of 3.5% in December.

In another measure of employment, total nonagricultural jobs increased by 2,100 in January over December. Job gains occurred in

• Leisure & Hospitality (+4,300);
• Trade, Transportation, & Utilities (+500);
• Construction (+300); and
• Other Services (+100).

Most of the rise in Leisure & Hospitality was in Food Services & Drinking Places, although there was also notable expansion in Arts, Entertainment, & Recreation. Job losses were experienced in:

• Education & Health Services (-100) and
• Professional & Business Services (-400).

Employment in Manufacturing; Information; and Financial Activities remained stable. Government employment contracted by 2,600 jobs, primarily due to a larger than typical seasonal release of workers in the Department of Education. Over-the-year (January 2022 was the 22nd month of pandemic effects), nonfarm jobs have gone up by 24,400, or 4%. However, in comparison with March 2020 (the last month prior to pandemic effects), nonfarm jobs were down by 26,300, or -4%.