HONOLULU (KHON2) — In December 2024, the U.S. economy continued to show signs of recovery, with notable job growth in many states.
A recent report ranked states based on their unemployment rates and how they changed over time that included comparing the most recent data to previous years.
Hawaiʻi, which has seen significant changes in its unemployment rates over the years, is one of the states that stood out. Let’s take a look at how Hawaiʻi’s unemployment rate has changed and where it stands compared to other states.
In December 2024, Hawaiʻi’s unemployment rate was 3.0%, which was one of the lowest in the country. We saw a small increase of 1.67% in unemployment compared to November 2024.
This means there were 19,850 unemployed people in Hawaiʻi during December, up from 19,524 in November. Although this was a modest rise, it ranked as the 20th worst in the U.S. for that month.
However, Hawaiʻi’s unemployment rate showed a positive change when compared to December 2023.
The rate dropped by 3.35%, meaning there were fewer unemployed people in December 2024 than in December 2023 which had 20,538 unemployed people. This improvement was one of the best in the country.
Hawaiʻi’s job market made an impressive recovery since December 2020. The unemployment rate dropped by 70.9% since then. In December 2020, Hawaiʻi had 68,205 unemployed people; but by December 2024, that number had decreased significantly as it marked the best change in the U.S.
However, when comparing December 2024 to December 2019, Hawaiʻi saw a 27.42% increase in unemployment that meant there were 4,272 more unemployed people than in 2019. This was one of the worst changes in the U.S., but it was still smaller than many other states.
Hawaiʻi also had the best change in not seasonally adjusted continued claims for unemployment. This means fewer people were filing for unemployment benefits in December 2024 compared to November 2024.
Here are Hawaiʻi’s key unemployment statistics for December 2024:
- Unemployment rate was 3.0% which was the 6th lowest in the U.S.
- The change in unemployment (December 2024 v. November 2024) was +1.67% (which was the 20th worst change in the U.S.
- The change in unemployment (December 2024 v. December 2023) was -3.35% which ranked us as the 11th best change in the U.S.
- The change in unemployment (December 2024 v. December 2020) was -70.90% which made it the best change in the U.S.)
- The change in unemployment (December 2024 v. December 2019) was +27.42% placing us at 15th worst change in the U.S.
- The change in continued claims (December 2024 v. November 2024) was -6.97% making it the best change in the U.S.
- Number of unemployed people was 19,850 in December 2024.
Overall, Hawaiʻi’s unemployment rate showed both positive trends and challenges. The state saw a large drop in unemployment compared to the pandemic’s peak, but there was a slight rise from the previous year.
You can read the full report by clicking here. Keep in mind that these stats are prior to the Jan. 20 inauguration and the unstable economy brought with it.
Despite some increases in unemployment from 2019, Hawaiʻi’s job market is recovering and improving over time.