Unemployment on the Neighbor Islands averaged more than 9 percent in October, reflecting a sharper downturn in tourism than what O'ahu has been experiencing.

The job numbers released yesterday by the state confirmed Hawai'i's 7.2 percent statewide seasonally adjusted unemployment rate reported last week by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. The state report includes additional details about how the counties fared during the month.

The Department of Labor and Industrial Relations said O'ahu's jobless rate was 5.9 percent on a nonseasonally adjusted basis in October and that the rate for all islands declined slightly from September's numbers. O'ahu's rate was down 0.2 percentage points compared with September.

The Neighbor Islands demonstrated similar trends, showing a decline compared with a month earlier, and a jump in unemployment from a year ago.

The state's figures show:

• Hawai'i County's nonseasonally adjusted rate slipped to 10.4 percent from September's 10.7 percent.

But it still was almost 4 percentage points higher than the 6.5 percent unemployment registered in October 2008.

• Kaua'i's rate was 9.1 percent, or 0.4 percentage points lower than September. In October 2008, unemployment on Kaua'i was at 5.5 percent.

• Maui's jobless ranks shrank slightly in October to 9.0 percent from 9.4 percent the prior month. In October 2008, Maui's rate was 5.2 percent.

• Moloka'i and Läna'i had double-digit unemployment rates, at 13.5 percent and 10.1 percent, respectively. Those levels were down from September's 13.7 percent and 11.0 percent, respectively.

The report showed Moloka'i's rate was 12.2 percent in October 2008; on Läna'i, it was 4.5 percent.

Unemployment has been running higher when compared with last year and is expected to rise in coming months as state layoffs and those at Maui Land and Pineapple Co. are reflected in the numbers.

The economic downturn in Hawai'i has taken a toll on the state's labor force, with 46,650 people going without work during the month.

A year earlier, there were 29,900 people without jobs statewide.

In Honolulu, the nonseasonally adjusted unemployment rate was 3.8 percent in October 2008.

Economists typically prefer to compare month-to-month changes on a seasonally adjusted basis. Nonseasonally adjusted numbers, such as those reported for the counties, make it more difficult to determine whether changes are due to seasonal patterns or economic condition changes.