Unemployment in the Islands increased last month to 4.4 percent, from 3.8 percent in May. The June rate compares with 4.5 percent in June 2002, the state Department of Labor and Industrial Relations said.

The jobless rate usually increases from May to June because of a surge of new entrants into the labor force and a temporary loss of jobs in public and private education at the end of the academic year, the department said.

The national unemployment rate followed a similar trend, increasing from 5.8 percent in May to 6.5 percent in June.

Since December, Hawai'i's jobless rate has been at least two percentage points lower than the national rate.

All islands except Lana'i showed increases in June. Lana'i's jobless rate dropped from 2.5 percent in May to 2.3 percent in June. Hawai'i County led the four counties with a jobless rate of 7.3 percent, while Moloka'i had the highest island rate at 12.4 percent. The City and County of Honolulu had the lowest rate at 3.8 percent.