Hawaii labor department issues $3.2B in unemployment insurance, jobs decline by 105K

The Hawaii State Department of Labor and Industrial Relations has disbursed more than $3.2 billion in unemployment insurance since the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic in the Islands in March, the department announced Thursday. Additionally, the department reported that Hawaii's unemployment rate is continuing its slow and steady decline at 12.5% in August, down from 13.1% in July, according to previous reporting by Pacific Business News. Across the state, 557,200 Island residents were employed and…