The beauty of paradise can be very distracting when looking
for a job. If given a choice, most people would not choose the
demanding task of finding employment over spending the day at one of the
warm, sunny, beautiful beaches here in Hawaii.
Unfortunately, the
high cost of living here ($44,057 for an
average family of four at an intermediate standard of living compared with
$40,191 for a similar family representing
the urban U.S. average), frequently requires that there be more than one
salaried worker in the family.
In fact, in addition to multiple
salaried workers in families, many individuals hold down part time jobs as
well. A recent Honolulu Star-Bulletin article reported that
37,800 people, or approximately 8% of Hawaii's labor force, are multiple job
holders.
The good news is that there are jobs here and,
in fact, the unemployment rate is one of the lowest in the
nation.
Hawaii has a competitive job market. The
unemployment rate is among the lowest in the nation; however, salaries are
lower than on the mainland.
| Good Prospects |
Service industry positions |
| Food services |
| Customer services |
| Sales |
| Fair Prospects |
Customer services |
| Administration |
| Clerical |
| Poor Prospects |
| Engineering |
The total number
of jobs for Hawaii in
2000 was 542,481 with 107,551 within the
government.
The service industry is the largest employer in the
state, providing 157,331 jobs, followed by the retail trade industry with
111,033 jobs. This area has seen tremendous growth with the
openings of new wholesale/retail firms in Waikele and Pearl City (e.g.
KMart, Home Outlet, Sports Authority, Eagle Hardware and Sam's
Club.)
The third largest employer is the government which includes
Federal, State, and City and County with a total of 107,551
jobs. While most of the federal government agencies are facing
cutbacks, the state and county governments have actually shown slight
increases in employment from last year.
Other industries which have
shown increases in employment were manufacturing, utilities, finance,
communications and transportation. Agriculture and construction
decreased their labor force.
In general, large companies used to
account for a large percentage of the employment picture, but currently they
represent only 10.9% of the labor force. The small business
sector continues to increase its role in the total employment
outlook.
No matter where you are, job hunting is very hard work and
usually a full time job in itself. Since Hawaii has one of the
lowest unemployment rates in the United States, it means that there are
definitely jobs available here.
On the other hand, the
Hawaii job market is very competitive as the high cost of living creates a
great demand for jobs. Minimum wage positions, especially in the
tourist related industries, are abundant; however, as wages increase in
particular fields so does the competition.
Don't be
discouraged--be prepared!
Please refer to contacts for more
information.