HONOLULU (KHON2) — With the rising cost of housing and lower wages combined with rising food costs and fewer affordable housing options, Hawaiʻi feels like a place with little if any opportunity to pursue the fabled “American Dream”.
So, the 2022 Hawaiʻi Employment Report was published by the Joint Economic Committee which was chaired by Senator Mike Lee.
In the report, it states that “Nationally, private-sector payroll jobs rose by 211,000 jobs in December, or 0.2 percent. Over the past 12 months, the national payroll rose by 5,996,000 jobs in the private sector, or 5 percent. Hawaiʻi ranks 1st among the 50 states and the District of Columbia for a percentage gain in private-sector payroll employment over the past 12 months.”
But what does this mean?
In December of that year, Hawaiʻi’s job market saw positive changes, with 1,900 new payroll jobs added and the unemployment rate dropping to 5.7%.
Over the past year, Hawaiʻi gained a total of 38,400 jobs, and the unemployment rate decreased by 4.6%. Private sector employment also grew, adding 1,500 jobs in December and 37,900 jobs over the year.
The household survey revealed a decrease in the number of unemployed individuals by 1,473 in December, while employment increased by 22,201 over the year.
Despite these improvements, Hawaiʻi’s labor force participation rate slightly rose to 60.1% in December, with a slight decrease from the previous year.
Nationally, the unemployment rate fell to 3.9% in December, showing overall positive trends in employment. However, Hawaiʻi’s employment data for January will be released in March, while the national employment situation report for January is scheduled for release in February.
The job market saw growth in various sectors, with Leisure and Hospitality and Trade, Transportation, and Utilities being the best performing sectors in December.
Over the past twelve months, these sectors continued to show growth, while Financial Activities and Education and Health Services were the poorest performing.
Overall, Hawaiʻi’s job market has seen significant improvement over the past year, with positive growth in employment and a decrease in the unemployment rate.
You can click here to read the full report.
However, challenges remain, and efforts to further improve job opportunities and labor force participation are ongoing.