Kaua‘i county posts largest unemployment decrease in state

LIHU‘E — The 75 initial unemployment claims filed by Kaua‘i residents last week marked a 31.2 percent decrease over the same week in 2011, when 109 people filed for unemployment benefits.

This marked the largest decrease in the state, where overall new unemployment claims were down 13 percent, according to the state Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism on Thursday.

More than 1,500 new claims were filed statewide in the week ending Sept. 29.

The 1,557 claims reflects a 12.9 percent drop from the same week in 2011, when 1,788 people filed for first time benefits.

According to figures released this week by the National Restaurant Association, Hawai‘i ranks in the top three in the nation in terms of job growth in the nation, boasting a 9.9 percent growth in the industry during the past two years.

Nationally, the U.S. unemployment rate dropped below 8 percent for the first time since President Barack Obama took office in January 2009, however, most of the increase in employed Americans came from those who had to settle for part-time work as 582,000 more people nationally reported that they were working part-time last month but wanted full-time jobs.