Maui County unemployment rises to 3.2% in June as statewide job losses continue

Maui County’s unemployment rate rose to 3.2% in June, up from 2.5% in May, according to not-seasonally adjusted figures released Monday by the state Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism.

The June rate was also slightly higher than the 3.1% recorded in Maui County a year earlier, in June 2025.

On Maui Island, unemployment climbed to 3.2% in June from 2.5% in May, but remained close to the 3% mark set in June 2025.

Moloka’i saw the sharpest swing in the county, with unemployment more than doubling to 4% in June from 1.9% in May. That was still a marked improvement from June 2025, when Moloka’i’s jobless rate stood at 5.6%.

Lāna’i’s unemployment rate ticked up to 3.6% in June from 3.3% in May, matching the 3.6% rate recorded on the island in June 2025.

Statewide and national trends

Statewide, Hawai’i’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate was 2.6% in June, up from 2.5% in May and 2.3% in June 2025. The department reported 672,500 people employed and 17,900 unemployed statewide in June, for a total seasonally adjusted labor force of 690,450.

The not-seasonally adjusted statewide rate was 3.2% in June, compared with 2.5% in May and 2.8% a year earlier.

Nationally, the seasonally adjusted unemployment rate was 4.2% in June, down slightly from 4.3% in May but up from 4.1% in June 2025.

Other counties

Honolulu’s not-seasonally adjusted unemployment rate was 3.1% in June, up from 2.4% in May and 2.7% in June 2025.

Hawai’i County posted the state’s highest county rate at 4% in June, up from 3% in May and 3.3% a year earlier.

Kaua’i’s unemployment rate was 2.8% in June, up from 2.1% in May and 2.5% in June 2025.

Job gains and losses by industry

Even as unemployment rates rose across the islands in June, the state’s total nonagricultural payroll count fell by 2,700 jobs from May to June on a seasonally adjusted basis, the department reported.

Private Education & Health Services added 800 jobs in June, with all of the growth concentrated in health services. Construction added 300 jobs. Financial Activities employment held steady.

Job losses were reported in several sectors: Leisure & Hospitality lost 1,800 jobs, with most of the decline in food services and drinking places; Trade, Transportation & Utilities and Professional & Business Services each lost 500 jobs; Other Services lost 400 jobs; and Manufacturing and Information each lost 100 jobs. Government employment fell by 400 jobs.

Despite the monthly dip, statewide nonfarm jobs were up 3,300, or 0.5%, compared with June 2025, the department said.

The Kahului-Wailuku metropolitan statistical area, which covers Maui, reported 75,200 total nonfarm jobs in June, up from 75,100 in May and 73,900 in June 2025.