The shutdown of the Hawaii Superferry will probably increase the state's unemployment rate while causing other disruptions in the local economy.

That was the concern expressed yesterday as people considered the effects of a state Supreme Court ruling that is shutting down the year-old O'ahu-Maui ferry service.

Hawaii Superferry said yesterday it will "start releasing" its 236-employee workforce on Friday.

Shippers who used the ferry said they will have to make other plans, such as placing cargo aboard Young Brothers Ltd.'s interisland barges, while passengers holding reservations were rebooked on Mokulele Airlines.

Beyond those directly affected, there was concern the shutdown could mar the state's efforts to promote a healthy climate for businesses.

The shutdown will also limit consumers' options for getting between islands.

"This takes away choice. It takes away competition," said State Sen. Sam Slom, R-8th, (Kahala, Hawai'i Kai), and head of Small Business Hawaii, an advocacy group. "It's going to take away the reduced prices."

The state Department of Labor and Industrial Relations said it was sending two of its unemployment response teams to company offices on O'ahu and Maui on Friday to help workers file for unemployment, extend their healthcare coverage benefits and obtain job counseling.

The laid-off workers will enter a shrinking job market. In January, seasonally adjusted joblessness climbed to 6.1 percent, the highest rate in more than 25 years. The number of available jobs shrank by more than 20,000 compared with a year earlier.

While the 236 jobs being lost won't add substantially to the unemployment rate, the prospects for the newly jobless workers may be limited. Total employment included 161 full- and part-time employees and 75 contracted employees.

"Because of the higher unemployment rate that we're seeing, it's more difficult for those people to find jobs," said Pearl Imada Iboshi, the state's chief economist.

Iboshi said there was nothing readily available to gauge the economic impact of the Superferry's shutdown, but said interisland airlines may benefit as people who otherwise would have taken the Superferry switch to air carriers.

There also will be a loss for vendors who sold goods and services used aboard the ferry. Spokeswoman Lori Abe said 90 percent of products purchased, sold or used onboard the Superferry were from local vendors. The Superferry also donated more than $165,000 worth of in-kind voyages and grants to more than 100 nonprofit organizations, she said.

The ferry moved thousands of vehicles a month between the islands. In January, it carried 13,312 passengers, 3,718 passenger cars and 622 commercial vehicles between O'ahu and Maui.

But the ruling could give the impression the state is a bad place to do business, Small Business Hawaii's Slom said.

"We've had this boat up and running for almost a year," he said, adding that the shutdown sends mixed messages about investments, employment, transportation and small business.

"It didn't do any of the things that the so-called environmentalists predicted in terms of whales, in terms of reefs, in terms of invasive species."

Irene Bowie, executive director of Maui Tomorrow, one of three plaintiffs in the case decided by the Supreme Court, said the case wasn't about business, but about following a proper process.

"If the process had been followed in the beginning, the Superferry could well be operating, people would have jobs and there would not be this economic effect," Bowie said.

"But the state took a different path and tried to go around our environmental law and put our economy at risk by putting our environment at risk."