More people in Hawaii are joining the labor force looking for work.

But not everyone who wants to is able to find a job.

The number of people unemployed in the state increased in August to 18,800 from 18,350 in July, marking the highest unemployment figure since there were 18,931 out of work in September 2024, according to data released Thursday by the state Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism.

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Still, Hawaii’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate remained at 2.7% for the second straight month after rising five times since starting the year at 2.2%. Hawaii’s lowest unemployment rate ever was 2.0% during each of the last four months in 2017.

Despite the increase last month in those unemployed, the number of people in the labor force and those finding employment also rose.

The labor force, which consists of those who are employed, those who are self-employed and those who are unemployed but actively seeking work, rose in August to 692,750 from 690,850 in July. The number of people in the labor force was the most since there were 693,073 in December 2019.

And the number of people employed rose to 673,950 last month from 672,500 in July, marking the highest figure since there were 675,985 in March 2020 — the last month before the COVID-19 breakout.

Eugene Tian, the state’s former chief economist for DBEDT, acknowledged that more people are looking for work.

“It is good if employment increased even though those unemployed is higher,” he said.

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Hawaii continues to have the fourth-lowest unemployment rate in the nation behind South Dakota (2.0%), North Dakota (2.2%) and Vermont (2.6%), according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Washington, D.C., has the highest jobless rate in the nation at 5.7%, followed by California, Connecticut and Oregon, all at 5.1%, and Michigan at 5.0%. The U.S. territory of Puerto Rico is at 6.1%.

Nationally, the unemployment rate remained at 4.1% in August.

In another measure of employment, Hawaii’s nonfarm payroll jobs grew by 100 to 643,000 in August from 642,900 in July. Professional and business services had the largest gain with 700 additional positions, mainly in temporary help services and professional employer organizations. Leisure and hospitality endured the largest contraction with 700 lost jobs, mainly in food services and drinking places.

Nonfarm payroll jobs are calculated from a mail survey of employers and are considered a better indicator of job growth due to a larger sample size than the labor force data, which is compiled from a telephone survey of households. In the payroll count, one person might be counted multiple times if that person has multiple jobs.

Unemployment rates were mixed in the state’s four major counties. State and national labor force data is adjusted for seasonal factors, but the county jobs data is not seasonally adjusted and thus does not take into account variations such as the winter holiday and summer vacation seasons.

Honolulu County’s rate rose to 2.9% in August from 2.7% in July, Kauai County’s rate increased to 2.5% from 2.4% and Maui County’s rate rose to 2.9% from 2.8%. But Hawaii County’s rate dipped to 3.4% from 3.5%. Within Maui County, Maui island’s rate rose to 2.9% from 2.8% and Lanai’s rate increased to 3.4% from 3.0%. Molokai’s rate fell to 3.6% from 4.1%.

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