President Biden’s Economic Plan is Working for Hawaii

News Release from The White House, June 6, 2022

Several economic indicators demonstrate robust economic progress in Hawaii since President Biden took office. Below are key metrics—such as state employment, unemployment insurance claims, GDP, supplemental poverty, and vaccination rates—that help us interpret the current moment and highlight our progress on economic recovery and enhanced support for workers and families.

Employment:

• Since January 2021, the Hawaii economy has added 50,200 jobs (9.0 percent of January 2021 employment in Hawaii). The state economy has recovered 62 percent of the jobs lost between February 2020 and April 2020.

o In the largest sector (government), the Hawaii economy added 400 jobs between January 2021 and April 2022.

o In the second largest sector (trade, transportation, and utilities), the state economy added 8,200 jobs.

o In the third largest sector (leisure and hospitality), the state economy added 33,500 jobs.

• The state’s unemployment rate fell from 8.3 percent in January 2021 to 4.2 percent in April 2022.

• Initial claims for Unemployment Insurance in Hawaii fell 78 percent since President Biden took office, from around 5,500 at the start of the Administration to about 1,200 for the week ending May 28, 2022.

• The quits rate, a measure of labor market strength (since people generally quit jobs to take better jobs), rose from 2.2 percent in January 2021 to 3.2 percent in March 2022.

GDP:

• Hawaii’s real GDP grew 5.4 percent at an annual rate in the 4th quarter of 2021.

o This is a substantial acceleration compared with growth in 2020, when Hawaii’s real GDP decreased by 12.2 percent Q4/Q4, and compared with 2019, when Hawaii’s real GDP contracted by 0.1 percent Q4/Q4.

o In the largest sector (financial services and real estate), real GDP grew by 6.2 percent at an annual rate in the 4th quarter of 2021, after contracting by 1.6 percent in 2020 and contracting by 3.1 percent in 2019.

Small Businesses:

• Residents of Hawaii applied to start more new businesses during President Biden’s first year in office than in any other year since the series started in 2005.

• Congressional Republicans’ tax plan would raise taxes on 49.8 percent of small business owners in Hawaii, and 81.1 percent of small business owners earning less than $50,000 per year. The typical affected small business owner would see their taxes increase by $700.

Poverty:

• Hawaii’s Supplemental Poverty Measure was projected to be 7.7 percent in 2021, lower than 11.4 percent on a comparable measure in 2018.

• The Supplemental Poverty Measure for children under 18 in Hawaii was projected to be 4.0 percent in 2021, lower than 9.8 percent on a comparable measure in 2018.

Vaccinations:

• The number of fully vaccinated people in Hawaii has increased from approximately 0 in January 2021 to 1,112,000 as of May 2022.