Maui County jobless ready steady at 2.8%; below nation’s 4.5%, but higher than state’s 2.6%

Maui County’s jobless rate has fallen to 2.8% in August of this year, down from 4% a year after the devastating August 2023 Maui wildfires and even down from 3.9% a year before the disaster.

The percentage means more available workers are employed, strengthening the job market for workers and putting more pressure on employers to hire qualified people. The figures come from the monthly report from the state Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism.

Maui County’s unemployment rate is unchanged from July. Kauaʻi County has the lowest jobless rate in August at 2.4%, followed by the City and County of Honolulu, 2.5%; and Hawaiʻi County, 2.9%. The state’s unemployment rate was 2.6% in August, unchanged from July.

Maui island’s unemployment rate in August was 2.7%, down significantly from 4% in August 2024. Molokaʻi’s rate was 3.9% last month, down from 4.2% a year earlier; and Lānaʻi’s rate was 2.6%, down from 3.9% in August last year.

The County and island rates are not seasonally adjusted.

In August, 668,950 people were employed and 18,250 were unemployed in the state of Hawaiʻi, for a total seasonally adjusted labor force of 687,250 statewide, DBEDT reported.

In a separate measure of employment, total nonagricultural jobs increased by 600 month over month, from July 2025 to August 2025. Job gains were experienced in Private Education & Health Services (+500); Construction (+300); and Professional & Business Services (+300). Within the Private Education & Health Services grouping, the expansion was primarily in Health Care & Social Assistance. Employment remained unchanged in Manufacturing; and Leisure & Hospitality.

Job losses occurred in Financial Activities (-100); Trade, Transportation & Utilities (-200); Information (-200); and Other Services (-200). Government employment went up by 200 jobs. Year over year, non-farm jobs have gone up by 11,900, or 1.9%.