Economy

... "7.2% of the individuals were furloughed, or reduced their working hours while 6.6% of them reported having someone in their family furloughed or reducing working hours" ....

... According to the Index, Hawaii’s areas for improvement include business environment (ranked 51st), economic quality (ranked 51st), infrastructure (ranked 35th) and education (ranked 28th) ....

... Jobs increased by 25,800 over-the-year ....

... Honolulu showed a Consumer Price Index change of -0.6% over the last two months ....

... Rising interest rates, dwindling pandemic era savings and the coming U.S. downturn will cause a pause in growth next year. But the belated recovery of the Japanese visitor market and surging public sector construction will prevent a recession in the islands ....

... comparing the actual outcomes during the affected period with the pre-pandemic forecast ....

... DBEDT kept economic growth projections for 2022 and 2023 for the State unchanged at 2.6 percent and 1.7 percent, respectively ....

...Job gains occurred in Leisure & Hospitality (+2,700); Education & Health Services (+500); Construction (+400); and Professional & Business Services (+200)....

... high inflation, higher travel costs, and the Fed’s interest rate hikes will still adversely impact Hawaii households and businesses ....

... DBEDT lowered Hawai‘i economic growth projections for 2022 and 2023 mainly due to the declining investment caused by the increasing of interest rates and inflation ....

... Hawaii had the second-largest percentage shortfall -6.6 percent, -2,500 jobs ....

... based on changes in unemployment claims for several key benchmark weeks ....

... Changes in Unemployment Rate by State ....

... To rank America’s Top States for Business in 2022, CNBC scored all 50 states on 88 metrics in 10 broad categories of competitiveness ....

... “2022’s Best and Worst State Economies.”  In that site, our humble little state had lots of reasons to be humble, coming in at a bottom-scraping 48th ....

... Hawaii rate of increase second only to Massachusetts ....

... total outstanding credit card debt stood at $222.6 million in the first quarter of 2022, or an average of $15,709 per household ....

... In May, there were notable gains in sectors including leisure and hospitality but Hawaii still lags ....

... Hawaii lost 1,600 construction jobs, -4.3 percent, the largest percentage loss in USA ....

... Hawaii's labor force increased by 7,400 people from May 2021 to May 2022 ....

... From a rate of 1.9% in 2018, inflation jumped to 7.1% in 2021 and was 8.2% as of April 2022 ....

“...In many concentrated insurance markets such as Hawaiʻi, insurers have few incentives to negotiate lower prices. They can easily pass these costs onto premiums without losing market share....”

... Hawaii improved significantly in 2021 after initially being hard hit by the pandemic ....

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

... 2022’s Best & Worst State Economies ....

... despite U.S. economic growth projections being revised downward ....

... Inflation in the Islands hit 7.5% in March ....

... and total spending by visitors who came to the islands in March 2022 was $1.53 billion, which was higher compared to the $1.49 billion (+2.5%) reported for March 2019 ....

... Honolulu business environment ranks 84th of 100 large cities in USA ....

... The extent of astronomy’s economic impact on the state goes well beyond the standard economic measurements when “spillover” effects are included ....

... over 83,000 people have moved away from Hawaii between 2011 and 2020 ....

... inflation has not been over 7.5% since 1991 ....

... A newly released report examines the tax burden and economic climate of all 50 states ....

... Only Hawaii, North Dakota and Louisiana have not reached at least a 70 percent recovery of jobs lost as of the peak of the coronavirus pandemic. ....

... Optimistic UHERO forecast with Omicron end, expected return of international visitors ....

... Visitor arrivals are projected to increase to 9.7 million in 2023, 10.0 million in 2024, and 10.4 million in 2025 ....

... where employers are struggling the most in hiring ....

... The total economic impact of $221 million, which also accounts for indirect and induced impacts, is nearly as much as farming statewide ....

... Insights From Fiscal 50’s Key Measures of State Fiscal Health ....

... November 2021 visitor spending was lower compared to the $1.34 billion (-11.5%) reported for November 2019 ....

... these are majority opinions in our state ....

... New weekly unemployment claims increased by 291 in Hawaii to 1,615 for the week ending Dec. 18 ....

... States Whose Unemployment Rates Are Bouncing Back Most from COVID ....

... Economic recovery resumed with the end of Hawaii’s COVID-19 wave. Now Omicron is a new threat .... 

... 38 states had unemployment claims last week that were lower than before the pandemic -- Hawaii isn't one of them ....

... Road Map to Prosperity ....

... DBEDT revised its economic growth projection for 2021 to 3.9 percent, up from the 2.7 percent projected in August  ....

... Gerard Dericks, Ph.D., is the new director of the Center for Entrepreneurship and Economic Education at Hawaii Pacific University ....

... 77 months until Hawaii returns to pre-COVID unemployment rates .... 

... Hawaii Increase in Unemployment (September 2021 vs September 2019) 175.50% ....