HONOLULU (KHON2) — The labor shortage is very real according to officials. And they said it isn’t just one field, it’s across the board.
“We have been looking at shortages for a long time,” Health Care Association of Hawaii CEO & President Hilton Raethel said.
According to Raethel, the medical field has been struggling to fill vacant positions for years.
The Healthcare Workforce Initiative Report found the number of job vacancies increased from 2,200 in 2019 to 3,873 in 2022, a 7% increase.
The report also listed registered specialty nurses at the top of the list for most in demand.
“We actually have more people going into the field,” Raethel said. “It is very challenging, though. The needs in health care have expanded over the years, and our population is getting older.”
“We simply don’t have enough young medical workers to fulfill those needs,” Rep. Scot Matayoshi explained.
Matayoshi is chair of the House Labor Committee and said the problem is much bigger than that.
“It’s everywhere,” Matayoshi added. “This is a problem that’s more widespread than just doctors and lawyers and accountants. This really is at every level of our society right now. Every single business I’ve talked to is short of all workers.”
From prison guards to police, teachers, and even accountants, government agencies and the legislature are implementing incentives to entice people, according to Matayoshi.
The Department of Education also offers classes as a pipeline to encourage teens to consider several career paths.
“As labor chair, I’ve been trying to figure out where all the workers have gone,” Matayoshi said. “Anecdotally, I’ve heard that a lot of Hawaii families have moved to the mainland.”
That may have something to do with it according to the US Census Bureau. From July 1, 2022, to July 1, 2023, Hawaii’s population dropped from over 1,439,399 to just over 1,435,138.
Hilton said it’s difficult when every industry and other states are competing for workers, especially since it’s cheaper on the mainland.
“Living in Hawaii continues to be a challenge,” Raethel explained. “The cost of housing is a challenge, the cost of gasoline, the cost of utilities, the cost of food. So that’s a challenge, not only for health care workers but for all of the workers in our community.”