The statewide unemployment rate inched downward in April to 2.4 percent.

The state Department of Labor and Industrial Relations said yesterday that Hawai'i's seasonally adjusted jobless rate fell 0.1 percentage point from March's 2.5 percent.

Hawai'i's rate was the second lowest, behind Montana, where unemployment was 2.2 percent , and well below the national rate of 4.5 percent.

"We remain pleased that the state's strong economy continues to foster a job market that has kept the unemployment rate at an extremely low level, and allowed a significant number of previously unemployed workers to find employment," said Nelson B. Befitel, director of Labor and Industrial Relations.

O'ahu's unemployment rate was unchanged at 2.3 percent, compared to the previous month.

The jobless rates for Maui and the Big Island also stayed the same at 2.2 percent and 3 percent, respectively.

Kaua'i's unemployment rate dipped to 2.2 percent from 2.3 percent in March.

Neighbor Island data are not seasonally adjusted.

According to the Labor Department, the number of unemployed people in Hawai'i declined by 300 from the previous month to 15,800 in April while the number of employed workers dropped by 1,900 to 637,500.

Another measure of employment — total seasonally adjusted nonagricultural jobs — fell by 3,500 to 621,300 in April.

The hospitality industry added 100 jobs while health services and private educational services raised their job counts by 200.

The government sector saw a decline of 3,800 jobs as the state Department of Education released much of its staff during the intersession break.

The state's construction sector saw a decline of 100 jobs while trade transportation and utilities also was off by 100.

Reach Rick Daysog at rdaysog@honoluluadvertiser.com.