Maui August unemployment rate at 2.9%

The non-seasonally adjusted unemployment rate for Maui in August was 2.9%, up from the 2.8% rate in July, and the 2.4% rate at the same time last year, according to the state Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism.

Statewide, the seasonally adjusted unemployment rate for Hawaiʻi in August was 2.7%, the same as in July. In August, 673,950 persons were employed and 18,800 were unemployed, for a total seasonally adjusted labor force of 692,750 statewide. Nationally, the seasonally adjusted unemployment rate was 4.1% in August, unchanged from July.

The unemployment rate figures for the state of Hawai‘i and the US iare seasonally adjusted in accordance with US Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) methodology. The not-seasonally adjusted rate for the state was 2.9% in August compared to the revised rate of 2.8% in July.

In a separate measure of employment, total nonagricultural jobs increased by 100 month over month, from July 2026 to August 2026.

Job gains were experienced in Professional & Business Services (+700); Financial Activities (+200); and Other Services (+100). Within Professional & Business Services, the bulk of the job expansion was in the Administrative & Support & Waste Management & Remediation Services subsector, more specifically in Temporary Help Services and Professional Employer Organizations. Employment remained unchanged in Manufacturing; and Information.

Job losses occurred in Construction (-100); Trade, Transportation & Utilities (-100); Private Education & Health Services (-500); and Leisure & Hospitality (-700). Within Leisure & Hospitality, job contraction was primarily in Food Services & Drinking Places.

Government employment went up by 500 jobs. Within Government, the increase was in state government, mostly due to hiring of primary election workers. Year over year, nonfarm jobs have gone up by 1,300, or 0.2%.