It's no comfort if you've been laid off yourself. But Hawaii unemployment numbers are not as bad as they may seem, lower than the mainland and lower than the last tourism slump. 3.9 is far below the national jobless rate of 5.7%. And it leaves out summer hiring. Unemployment actually fell last month on all six surveyed islands.

These figures would not be possible unless a lot of furloughed workers have found new jobs. But what has happened since July?

The new weekly jobless claims figures are up slightly, above 12-thousand, but reflect a gentle rise in joblessness that is nothing like the spike that we experienced after 9/11.

We all know people are looking for work, but the more common problem right now is not finding a job, it's finding a job that will allow us to maintain our lifestyle in an age of $3 gas and $600-thousand homes.

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