LIHU‘E — The county’s unemployment rate continues to move toward pre-pandemic levels, according to a recent report from the state Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism.
Kaua‘i’s July unemployment rate was 9.6%, down 1.6% from June and down 10.8% from July 2020, four months into the pandemic.
Despite the overall improvement in jobless numbers, local employers are still clamoring for labor. A Kaua‘i official said the high demand for workers should be taken as a positive sign.
“That means, number one, we’re getting the business, and number two, we’re on our way to recovery,” county Workforce Specialist Dan Fort told The Garden Island.
Fort is an official behind Ho‘ohana Kaua‘i, a recently created county initiative intended to expedite the hiring process for job seekers and employers alike. Businesses have swarmed the service, he said.
“We just started, like, literally this month, and we’ve got 50-something, 60-something employers already logged in,” Fort explained. “It’s amazing.”
He said two job seekers were hired through Ho‘ohana Kaua‘i within the same timeframe, and several others received referrals. He believes more workers will come calling as Ho‘ohana Kaua‘i’s profile grows, and is confident the county’s unemployment rate is on the right track.
“I don’t know how quickly we’re going to recover, but we are definitely recovering,” Fort said, noting the island is closer than ever to its pre-pandemic unemployment rate of approximately 2%.
The DBEDT also reported the statewide unemployment rate was 7.3% in July, compared to 7.7% in June. Nationally, the unemployment rate was 5.4 percent in July, down from 5.9% the previous month, the department said.
The latest state economic forecast published by DBEDT indicates it will take years for Hawai‘i to return to its pre-pandemic unemployment rate.
“Overall for 2021, the average annual unemployment rate is forecast to be 7.7%, then decrease to 6.3% in 2022, 5.6% in 2023 and 5.0% in 2024,” the report for the second quarter of 2021 states. “These rates are much higher than Hawai‘i’s average unemployment rate of 2.5% from 2017 to 2019.”
Employers may register for Ho‘ohana Kaua‘i online at airtable.com/shrYmLkqL4y1Z1l4o. Job seekers may register at airtable.com/shrPPUFXZblTDVQ05.
The service is intended to boost local employment numbers by matching candidates with hiring managers on a daily basis.
“We contact them and say, ‘Hey, we have these people that have these jobs here in the area that you’re looking for. You want to go connect to them?’ and send them on their way,” Fort said.
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Scott Yunker, general assignment reporter, can be reached at 245-0437 or syunker@thegardenisland.com.
