HONOLULU (KHON2) — Even as construction wages climb across the United States, Hawai‘i’s construction industry isn’t keeping pace with broader job market gains. In a new study, Hawai‘i ranks #9 amongst states where the construction industry is struggling the most.
According to the study, between 2021 and 2024, Hawai‘i’s construction wages grew by only 6.7%. That’s well below the state’s overall wage growth of 11.7%.
That’s also a 5.0 percentage point gap. Nationally, construction wages rose 21.1% during that same period, more than double the 8.2% wage growth across all occupations.
The study indicated that Hawai‘i’s construction employment fell 2.2% between 2021 and 2024. Meanwhile, total job growth across all industries in the state increased by 13.2%.
That’s a 15.4 percentage point difference; one of the steepest gaps in the U.S. Only a few states experienced this level of divergence between construction jobs and the rest of the workforce.
Nationally, the construction industry saw median hourly wages jump from $23.18 in 2021 to $28.06 in 2024. While wage growth might seem like good news, it often signals that employers are struggling to find skilled workers, said the study.
“That’s massive growth in hourly wages in such a short amount of time,” said Matt Schulz, a chief consumer finance analyst for the study and author of Ask Questions, Save Money, Make More: How to Take Control of Your Financial Life. “That’s great news for construction workers because it hints there’s incredibly strong demand for their skills.”
But in Hawai‘i, wages grew more slowly. Combined with falling employment, this raises red flags about the industry’s ability to respond to future demand, the study found.
Across the U.S., the construction sector continues to battle an aging workforce that has fewer young workers entering the field and ongoing demand driven by urban growth and infrastructure projects.
Some states are adapting more quickly than others, but Hawai‘i appears to be struggling.
You can click here to read the full report.
Although national forecasts suggest construction employment could outpace overall job growth in the next decade, that prediction depends on each state’s ability to attract and retain skilled labor, said the report.
With Hawai‘i ranking #9 in terms of industry strain, the current numbers suggest the local sector may need to adjust in order to meet demand in the years ahead.