Hawaii's job market is cooling, with unemployment ticking up and hiring slower than a year ago — a mild negative for local workers, though the state still looks better than the country as a whole.

• Hawaii's unemployment rate rose slightly in July to 2.7%, well below the national rate of 4.1%.
• The unadjusted rate actually fell, but both measures point to less hiring than last summer.
• The Navy carrier George Washington has taken over Middle East duty from the Abraham Lincoln, which is heading home to San Diego after a stretched-out deployment nearing 300 days at sea.
• Somali pirates are active again in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden, seizing a tanker suspected of quietly carrying Iranian oil and, days earlier, a cargo ship loaded with weapons.
• Stocks bounced back, with the Dow up more than 400 points after dropping over 700 the day before.

Outlook: Hiring in Hawaii looks set to stay soft, and shipping through the Red Sea faces fresh risk as pirate attacks pick up.