Maui County’s July unemployment up 58% to 4.1%, compared with pre-disaster jobless rate

While the vast majority of Maui County residents remain employed, the county’s unemployment rate has gone up 58% in July, compared with the same month last year before the Maui wildfires, according a monthly report from the state Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism.

The county’s unemployment rate in July was 4.1%, or 1.5 percentage points higher than the 2.6% rate in July 2023, a month before the Maui wildfire disaster in early August last year. In June of this year, the county’s unemployment rate was higher at 4.4%.

Maui island’s unemployment rate in July was 4.1%, up from 2.5% a year earlier. Molokaʻi’s rate was 5.6% last month, down from 6.8% in July 2023, and Lānaʻi’s rate was 1.1%, down from 3.4% in July last year.

Hawaii’s unemployment rate as a state overall was 3% in July, slightly up from 2.8% last year. The US rate was 4.5% in July, up from 3.8% a year earlier.

The County and island rates are not seasonally adjusted.

In July, 651,700 persons were employed and 19,250 were unemployed, for a total seasonally adjusted labor force of 670,950 statewide, DBEDT reported.

In a separate measure of employment, total nonagricultural jobs increased by 2,400 month-over-month, from June 2024 to July 2024, according to the department. Job gains were experienced in construction (+800); private education and health services (+800); financial activities (+400); manufacturing (+100); information (+100); and leisure and hospitality (+100). Within the private education and health services grouping, the rise in employment was evenly split between private educational services and health care and social assistance.

Job losses occurred in trade, transportation and utilities (-100); professional and business services (-100); and other services (-200). Government employment went up by 500 jobs, with expansion in both state and federal branches.

Year-over-year (July 2023 was the 40^th month of pandemic effects), nonfarm jobs have gone up by 5,300, or 0.8 percent. However, in comparison with March 2020 (the last month prior to pandemic effects), nonfarm jobs were down by 16,600, or -2.5 percent.