Posted on: Saturday, October 23, 2004

State jobless rate up a bit

By Dan Nakaso
Advertiser Staff Writer

Hawai'i's unemployment rate crept up to 3.1 percent in September, but the state retained the distinction of having the lowest jobless rate in the nation for the fifth straight month.

The size of the Islands' seasonally adjusted civilian labor force shrank to 630,200 last month from 630,900 in August, according to preliminary figures from the federal Bureau of Labor Statistics.

At the same time, the number of people without jobs grew 19,600 in September from 18,000 the month before.

The unemployment rate rose from a 13-year low of 2.9 percent in August.

The labor force data are derived from a monthly telephone survey of households, conducted by the BLS.

But most major industries continued to add jobs, according to a separate survey of businesses done by the bureau.

The number of seasonally adjusted trade, transportation and utility employees increased by 1,100; government jobs grew by 1,000; and leisure and hospitality added another 1,000 positions, according to the BLS.

While there are sometimes discrepancies in the two surveys on a month-to-month basis, they tend to follow a similar trend over the longer term.

Cristina Iguchi, 35, of 'Ewa had trouble finding a sales position in September after interviewing with several retail businesses.

"Nobody called me back," Iguchi said. "I guess the competition was high."

But two weeks ago, Iguchi finally got a job with Liki Liki Trading Co., driving to retail stores making clothes deliveries and checking store inventories.

"It's a fun job," Iguchi said. "I like it."

State labor officials plan to release a more detailed September unemployment report on Monday; that will include separate breakdowns for each island.

The officials said yesterday that the number of people working more than one job in Hawai'i dropped to 44,977 in 2003 from 57,928 in 2001.

The number of people with multiple jobs as a percentage of the total workforce fell to 7.6 percent in 2003 from 9.8 percent in 2001.

Hawai'i ranked second in the nation in job growth from September 2003 to last month, the officials added.

Paul Brewbaker, chief economist for Bank of Hawaii, said the rise in the unemployment rate from August to September isn't a reason to be concerned.

"It's a slight reminder that one month does not a trend make," Brewbaker said. "It seems that 3 percent, plus or minus a 10th of a point, is our zone." He added that he doesn't yet see a pattern of a large increase in unemployment.

Labor officials, economists and retailers predict that a busy holiday shopping season, combined with a hot construction industry, will continue to keep unemployment rates low through the rest of the year.

Until now, salaries have remained relatively stagnant despite a scramble by employers to find good workers.

But salaries could rise as the holiday shopping season kicks in.

"This year, that seasonal hiring demand will come up against the fact that labor's tight in general," Brewbaker said.

Other factors, primarily rising fuel costs, could slow spending.

"With oil prices higher, there's a little bit less cash flow in every household that has to drive a car," Brewbaker said. "

Reach Dan Nakaso at dnakaso@honoluluadvertiser.com or 525-8085.