August's non-seasonally-adjusted rate was up from 4.3 percent in July and 4.1 percent in August 2002, according to figures released yesterday by the Department of Labor and Industrial Relations.

During August, 1,300 service jobs were lost along with losses of 700 jobs in each of the education and health services, healthcare and social assistance, and the government sectors. The leisure and hospitality sectors showed the biggest gain by adding 400 jobs since July.

Despite the increase in unemployment, the overall number of workers continued to grow, reaching 581,000 last month versus 557,100 in August 2002.

The unemployment figures indicate the state's economy remains fairly strong despite concerns about the tourism industry following onset of the Iraq war and SARS scare. Economists have pointed to relatively low interest rates and a strong construction industry as contributing to the resilience of state's economy.

Hawai'i's jobless rate remained well below the national unemployment rate, which stood at 6 percent last month.

"Looking back at where we were in terms of the job market in the aftermath of the Sept. 11th attack in 2001, Hawai'i's ability to continue to grow and sustain the expansion of our labor force is a testament to Hawai'i's improving economy," said Nelson Befitel, labor department director.

Honolulu posted the lowest unemployment rate at 4 percent, up from 3.7 percent in August 2002. Maui's jobless rate stood at 4.2 percent compared with 4 percent in the year-ago period.

On the Big Island, August's jobless rate was 6.2 percent versus 5.7 percent the year before. Maui County, which includes Lana'i, recorded a jobless rate of 4.7 percent, which was up from 4.3 percent in August 2002. Kaua'i's rate dropped to 4.9 percent from 5 percent in the year-ago period.

Moloka'i suffered the biggest increase in unemployment — 15.8 percent in August 2003 versus 10.3 percent in August 2002.

Last month, 26,900 were unemployed, compared with 23,700 who were jobless in the state in August 2002. The size of the overall workforce grew to 607,800 last month, including those unemployed, compared with 580,800 people in August 2002.