Hawai'i's unemployment rate rose 0.1 percentage point to a seasonally adjusted 2.3 percent last month due to layoffs at grocery outlets, department stores and telecommunications companies, the state said yesterday.

Even so, Hawai'i's unemployment rate was the lowest in the nation for the seventh straight month, the state Department of Labor and Industrial Relations said. The national average stood at 4.5 percent in February.

The jobless rate climbed as 700 more people claimed unemployment during the month, a figure exceeding the number of new jobs created at Waikiki retail stores and other locations, said James Hardway, a department spokesman.

The rise is in line with economist predictions that Hawai'i's jobless rate would likely climb gradually this year as the economy slows.

The figures don't foretell a serious downturn, however.

Economists say a jobless rate of around 2 percent means almost everyone who wants a job already has one.

Hardway said an unemployment rate of 2.3 percent was still "exceptional" and underscored the strength of the state's economy.

Critics have argued that Hawai'i may have plenty of jobs but too many of them are in the low-paying tourism industry. Many must work several low-paying service jobs to afford Hawai'i's high cost of living.

Moloka'i had the highest jobless rate of any island, with 5.2 percent of residents lacking jobs.

Lana'i had the lowest, with 1.7 percent of the population on unemployment.

Hardway said Hawai'i's economy had been expanding to the degree it could offer jobs to graduates from local schools and to those returning to the Islands after attending school on the Mainland and elsewhere.