Introduction
Hawaii County vs. Hawaii
Hawaii County:
2022 Jobs = 111,413
2022 Percent of State = 12.33%
Hawaii:
2022 Jobs = 903,622
2022 Percent of U.S. = 0.43%
Employment numbers remain the most popular and frequently cited statistics used for tracking local area economic conditions and trends. The Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) employment estimates reported measure the number of full- and part-time wage and salary employees, plus the number of proprietors of unincorporated businesses. People holding more than one job are counted in the employment estimates for each job they hold. This means BEA employment estimates represent a job count, not a people count. Also, BEA employment is by place-of-work, rather than by place-of-residence. Jobs held by neighboring county residents who commute to Hawaii County to work are included in the employment count for Hawaii County.
Data Definition:
The BEA employment series for states and local areas comprises estimates of the number of jobs, full-time plus part-time, by place of work. Full-time and part-time jobs are counted at equal weight. Employees, sole proprietors, and active partners are included, but unpaid family workers and volunteers are not included. Proprietors employment consists of the number of sole proprietorships and the number of partners in partnerships. The description "by place of work" applies to the wage and salary portion of the series and, with relatively little error, to the entire series. The proprietors employment portion of the series, however, is more nearly by place of residence because, for nonfarm sole proprietorships, the estimates are based on IRS tax data that reflect the address from which the proprietor's individual tax return is filed, which is usually the proprietor's residence. The nonfarm partnership portion of the proprietors employment series reflects the tax-filing address of the partnership, which may be either the residence of one of the partners or the business address of the partnership. The employment estimates are designed to be consistent with the estimates of wages and salaries and proprietors' income that are part of the personal income series. The employment estimates are based on the same sets of source data as the corresponding earnings estimates and are prepared with parallel methodologies. Two forms of proprietors' income-the income of limited partnerships and the income of tax-exempt cooperatives-have no corresponding employment estimates.
Page 2 of 15
Total Employment, 1969-2022
Total Employment, 1969-2022
Figure 1.
Figure 1 tracks Hawaii County's annual total employment for the period 1969-2022 to illustrate total employment patterns over time. During this 54-year period, Hawaii County's total employment rose from 29,258 in 1969 to 111,413 in 2022, for a net gain of 82,155, or 280.79%.
Page 3 of 15
Total Employment, 1969-2022
Total Employment, 1969-2022
Figure 2.
Figure 2 traces Hawaii's annual total employment for the period 1969-2022 to illustrate total employment patterns over time. During this 54-year period, Hawaii's total employment rose from 415,912 in 1969 to 903,622 in 2022, for a net gain of 487,710, or 117.26%.
Page 4 of 15
Total Employment Indices (1969=100): 1969-2022
Total Employment Indices (1969=100): 1969-2022
Figure 3.
Figure 3 shows Hawaii County's total employment growth in a broader context by offering direct comparisons across time with Hawaii, the United States. The growth indices shown here express each region's total employment in 1969 as a base figure of 100, and the total employments in later years as a percentage of the 1969 base figure. This method allows for more direct comparison of differences in total employment growth between regions that may differ vastly in size.
Hawaii County's overall total employment growth was 280.79% over 1969-2022 outpaced Hawaii's increase of 117.26%, and outpaced the United States' increase of 133.32%.
Page 5 of 15
Total Employment as a Percent of the Hawaii Total: 1969-2022
Total Employment as a Percent of the Hawaii Total: 1969-2022
Figure 4.
Another interesting and insightful way of comparing the total employment growth of Hawaii County is to compare its individual percentage contributions to Hawaii's statewide total employment over time, as shown in Figure 4. A rising share means a region's total employment grew faster, or declined less, than Hawaii's total employment, while a declining share shows it grew more slowly.
In 1969, Hawaii County's total employment totaled 7.03% of Hawaii's total employment, while in 2022 it comprised 12.33% thereby yielding a +5.29% share-shift.
   
 
Total Employment Share-Shift
2022 vs. 1969
 
Share-
Shift*
 
2022
vs.
1969
+5.29%
=
12.33%
-
7.03%
 
   
Page 6 of 15
Hawaii County Total Employment:
Annual Percent Change, 1970-2022
Hawaii County Total Employment:
Annual Percent Change, 1970-2022
Figure 5.
Figure 5 displays the short-run pattern of Hawaii County's total employment growth by tracking the year-to-year percent change over 1970-2022. The average annual percent change for the entire 53-year period is also illustrated on this chart to provide a benchmark for gauging periods of relative high--and relative low--growth against the backdrop of the long-term average.
On average, Hawaii County's total employment grew at an annual rate of 2.60% over 1970-2022. The county posted its highest growth in 1989 (9.08%) and posted its lowest growth in 2020 (-8.58%). In 2022, Hawaii County's total employment grew by 5.00%
Page 7 of 15
Hawaii County Total Employment:
Annual Percent Change and Decade Averages Over 1970-2022
Hawaii County Total Employment:
Annual Percent Change and Decade Averages Over 1970-2022
Figure 6.
Over the past five decades some counties have experienced extreme swings in growth, and often such swings have tended to coincide with the decades themselves. Figure 6 again illustrates the annual percent change in Hawaii County's total employment since 1970, but this time they are overlayed with average growth rates for the decade of the 1970s, 1980s, 1990s, 2000s, 2010s, and 2020-2022.
During the 1970s, Hawaii County's annual total employment growth rate averaged 4.06%. It averaged 3.57% throughout the 1980s, 2.18% throughout the 1990s, 2.41% during the 2000s, 1.27% throughout the 2010s, 1.02% thus far this decade (2020-2022).
Page 8 of 15
Total Employment Growth:
Average Annual Percent Change by Decade
Total Employment Growth:
Average Annual Percent Change by Decade
Figure 7.
Figure 7 compares the decade average growth rates for Hawaii County noted in the previous graph with the corresponding decade averages for Hawaii and the nation. As the chart reveals, Hawaii County's average annual total employment growth outgained Hawaii's average throughout the 1970s (4.06% vs. 2.96%), topped Hawaii's average in the 1980s (3.57% vs. 2.29%), topped Hawaii's average throughout the 1990s (2.18% vs. 0.59%), registered above Hawaii's average throughout the 2000s (2.41% vs. 1.20%), surpassed Hawaii's average in the 2010s (1.27% vs. 0.98%), and registered above Hawaii's average over the 3 year period of the current decade, 2020-2022 (1.02% vs. -0.10%).
Finally, relative to nationwide total employment growth trends, Hawaii County exceeded the nation over the 1970s (4.06% vs. 2.21%), recorded above the nation in the 1980s (3.57% vs. 1.88%), exceeded the nation throughout the 1990s (2.18% vs. 1.73%), registered above the nation during the 2000s (2.41% vs. 0.74%), fell under the nation in the 2010s (1.27% vs. 1.51%), and fell under the nation over 2020-2022 (1.02% vs. 1.82%).
   
 
Total Employment Growth:
Average Annual Percent Change
 
 
 
2.60
4.06
3.57
2.18
2.41
1.27
1.02
5.00
 
1.51
2.96
2.29
0.59
1.20
0.98
-0.10
4.94
 
1.62
2.21
1.88
1.73
0.74
1.51
1.82
4.78
 
   
Page 9 of 15
Job Ratios (Employment/Population): 1969-2022
Job Ratios (Employment/Population): 1969-2022
Figure 8.
The job ratios shown in Figure 8 for Hawaii County, Hawaii and the nation not only portray a number of important trends, they also serves as a thumbnail guide to evaluating an economy's capacity to generate enough jobs fast enough to absorb the increasing number of workers attendant to a growing population. The job ratio is the number of full-time and part-time jobs by place of work, divided by population.
Nationally, the job ratio rose from 0.45 to 0.64 between 1969 and 2022. Hawaii County's job ratio registered 0.46 in 1969, and 0.54 in 2022. Underlying the rising job ratio over the past several decades have been the increases in the labor force participation rates, with the number and proportion of women in the labor market playing a leading role.
An assortment of other factors can contribute to regional differences in the job ratio. They include differences in the proportion of elderly and retirees who no longer work and participate in the labor force, differences in the number and proportion of part-time vs. full-time workers, differences in industry composition, and differences in age and sex distribution and degree of urbanization. Also, a disproportionate number of workers commuting to work outside a county tends to lower its local county job ratio, while a net inflow of workers commuting to work inside the county tends to augment its local county job ratio.
Avoid interpreting the job ratio as the fraction (or percent) of the local population employed. This interpretation should only apply to the "employment-population ratio" statistic compiled by the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) from the Current Population Survey (CPS).
Page 10 of 15
Job Ratios (Employment/Population)
as a Percent of the U.S. Average:
1969-2022
Job Ratios (Employment/Population)
as a Percent of the U.S. Average:
1969-2022
Figure 9.
To highlight trends in a local job ratio relative to nationwide trends, Figure 9 tracks Hawaii County's, Hawaii's job ratio as a percent of the national job ratio over 1969-2022.
Page 11 of 15

Interactive TableTip: To augment your analysis click on the column headers in the following table to rank and/or sort the data.

   
 
Hawaii County:
Total Employment, 1969-2022
 
1969
 
29,258
100.0
N
7.03
0.46
102.50
1970
 
30,761
105.1
5.14
7.10
0.48
108.08
1971
 
32,225
110.1
4.76
7.38
0.44
99.00
1972
 
33,516
114.6
4.01
7.40
0.48
106.36
1973
 
34,538
118.0
3.05
7.30
0.47
101.79
1974
 
35,512
121.4
2.82
7.32
0.48
102.41
1975
 
37,283
127.4
4.99
7.47
0.48
105.19
1976
 
38,031
130.0
2.01
7.53
0.47
101.19
1977
 
38,972
133.2
2.47
7.65
0.47
98.70
1978
 
40,264
137.6
3.32
7.63
0.47
95.18
1979
 
43,497
148.7
8.03
7.82
0.49
96.93
1980
 
46,001
157.2
5.76
8.01
0.50
98.71
1981
 
46,219
158.0
0.47
8.14
0.48
96.02
1982
 
46,450
158.8
0.50
8.20
0.47
95.40
1983
 
47,804
163.4
2.91
8.29
0.47
95.91
1984
 
48,073
164.3
0.56
8.25
0.46
90.85
1985
 
49,351
168.7
2.66
8.25
0.47
89.56
1986
 
50,196
171.6
1.71
8.20
0.46
88.12
1987
 
53,031
181.3
5.65
8.25
0.47
88.77
1988
 
56,439
192.9
6.43
8.44
0.50
91.08
1989
 
61,566
210.4
9.08
8.84
0.53
95.71
1990
 
66,935
228.8
8.72
9.24
0.55
99.35
1991
 
71,389
244.0
6.65
9.58
0.56
103.12
1992
 
69,829
238.7
-2.19
9.36
0.53
98.49
1993
 
70,520
241.0
0.99
9.51
0.52
96.39
1994
 
70,151
239.8
-0.52
9.52
0.51
92.95
1995
 
70,202
239.9
0.07
9.56
0.50
89.95
1996
 
71,989
246.0
2.55
9.82
0.51
90.45
1997
 
73,636
251.7
2.29
10.04
0.51
89.94
1998
 
74,381
254.2
1.01
10.08
0.51
88.78
1999
 
76,060
260.0
2.26
10.30
0.52
89.40
2000
 
78,228
267.4
2.85
10.44
0.52
89.43
2001
 
81,454
278.4
4.12
10.82
0.54
92.45
2002
 
83,553
285.6
2.58
11.03
0.54
94.17
2003
 
85,804
293.3
2.69
11.09
0.54
94.69
2004
 
89,834
307.0
4.70
11.27
0.55
95.66
2005
 
95,408
326.1
6.20
11.64
0.57
97.24
2006
 
99,121
338.8
3.89
11.77
0.57
96.91
2007
 
103,434
353.5
4.35
11.96
0.58
97.64
2008
 
100,969
345.1
-2.38
11.76
0.56
94.39
2009
 
96,010
328.1
-4.91
11.57
0.52
92.37
2010
 
94,321
322.4
-1.76
11.44
0.51
91.08
2011
 
95,453
326.2
1.20
11.43
0.51
90.49
2012
 
96,974
331.4
1.59
11.42
0.51
90.28
2013
 
99,728
340.9
2.84
11.49
0.52
90.83
2014
 
101,885
348.2
2.16
11.54
0.53
90.60
2015
 
103,987
355.4
2.06
11.54
0.53
90.25
2016
 
105,318
360.0
1.28
11.51
0.53
89.63
2017
 
107,546
367.6
2.12
11.68
0.54
90.05
2018
 
108,941
372.3
1.30
11.79
0.54
89.24
2019
 
108,849
372.0
-0.08
11.91
0.54
89.17
2020
 
99,514
340.1
-8.58
12.17
0.50
84.17
2021
 
106,103
362.6
6.62
12.32
0.52
85.26
2022
 
111,413
380.8
5.00
12.33
0.54
84.72
Source: Calculations by the Hawaii Regional Economic Analysis Project (HI-REAP)
with data provided by the U.S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of Economic Analysis
November 2023
REAP_PI_CA1400_1000_PSN
 
   
Page 12 of 15

Interactive TableTip: To augment your analysis click on the column headers in the following table to rank and/or sort the data.

   
 
Hawaii:
Total Employment, 1969-2022
 
1969
 
415,912
100.0
N
0.46
0.56
123.75
1970
 
433,555
104.2
4.24
0.47
0.57
126.88
1971
 
436,830
105.0
0.76
0.48
0.55
124.62
1972
 
452,960
108.9
3.69
0.48
0.55
122.86
1973
 
473,087
113.7
4.44
0.48
0.56
120.67
1974
 
485,226
116.7
2.57
0.48
0.57
120.50
1975
 
499,203
120.0
2.88
0.50
0.57
124.28
1976
 
504,799
121.4
1.12
0.50
0.57
121.14
1977
 
509,265
122.4
0.88
0.48
0.56
116.35
1978
 
527,519
126.8
3.58
0.48
0.57
115.00
1979
 
556,339
133.8
5.46
0.49
0.59
116.22
1980
 
574,555
138.1
3.27
0.50
0.59
118.36
1981
 
567,762
136.5
-1.18
0.49
0.58
115.90
1982
 
566,510
136.2
-0.22
0.50
0.57
115.68
1983
 
576,830
138.7
1.82
0.50
0.57
115.15
1984
 
582,402
140.0
0.97
0.48
0.57
110.86
1985
 
597,946
143.8
2.67
0.48
0.58
110.53
1986
 
611,862
147.1
2.33
0.48
0.58
110.67
1987
 
642,686
154.5
5.04
0.50
0.60
112.55
1988
 
668,691
160.8
4.05
0.50
0.62
113.36
1989
 
696,362
167.4
4.14
0.51
0.64
115.31
1990
 
724,262
174.1
4.01
0.52
0.65
117.37
1991
 
745,447
179.2
2.93
0.54
0.66
120.55
1992
 
746,137
179.4
0.09
0.54
0.64
119.56
1993
 
741,780
178.4
-0.58
0.53
0.63
116.78
1994
 
736,771
177.1
-0.68
0.51
0.62
113.21
1995
 
734,039
176.5
-0.37
0.50
0.61
110.41
1996
 
733,396
176.3
-0.09
0.49
0.61
108.66
1997
 
733,761
176.4
0.05
0.47
0.61
106.84
1998
 
738,175
177.5
0.60
0.47
0.61
105.73
1999
 
738,111
177.5
-0.01
0.46
0.61
105.35
2000
 
749,439
180.2
1.53
0.45
0.62
105.37
2001
 
752,548
180.9
0.41
0.45
0.61
105.68
2002
 
757,694
182.2
0.68
0.46
0.61
106.49
2003
 
773,609
186.0
2.10
0.47
0.62
108.11
2004
 
797,234
191.7
3.05
0.47
0.63
108.56
2005
 
819,967
197.1
2.85
0.48
0.63
108.76
2006
 
842,375
202.5
2.73
0.48
0.64
109.12
2007
 
864,610
207.9
2.64
0.48
0.66
110.26
2008
 
858,384
206.4
-0.72
0.48
0.64
109.33
2009
 
829,885
199.5
-3.32
0.48
0.62
108.87
2010
 
824,450
198.2
-0.65
0.48
0.60
108.07
2011
 
834,994
200.8
1.28
0.47
0.60
106.77
2012
 
849,130
204.2
1.69
0.47
0.60
106.14
2013
 
868,191
208.7
2.24
0.48
0.61
105.97
2014
 
882,702
212.2
1.67
0.47
0.62
105.51
2015
 
901,126
216.7
2.09
0.47
0.62
105.34
2016
 
914,921
220.0
1.53
0.47
0.63
105.30
2017
 
921,135
221.5
0.68
0.47
0.63
105.05
2018
 
924,352
222.2
0.35
0.46
0.63
103.84
2019
 
914,019
219.8
-1.12
0.45
0.63
102.74
2020
 
817,697
196.6
-10.54
0.42
0.56
95.66
2021
 
861,096
207.0
5.31
0.42
0.60
97.44
2022
 
903,622
217.3
4.94
0.43
0.63
98.43
Source: Calculations by the Hawaii Regional Economic Analysis Project (HI-REAP)
with data provided by the U.S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of Economic Analysis
November 2023
REAP_PI_CA1400_1000_PSN
 
   
Page 13 of 15

Interactive TableTip: To augment your analysis click on the column headers in the following table to rank and/or sort the data.

   
 
United States:
Total Employment, 1969-2022
 
1969
 
91,053,200
100.0
N
0.45
1970
 
91,277,600
100.2
0.25
0.45
1971
 
91,581,400
100.6
0.33
0.44
1972
 
94,312,200
103.6
2.98
0.45
1973
 
98,427,500
108.1
4.36
0.47
1974
 
100,111,800
109.9
1.71
0.47
1975
 
98,900,600
108.6
-1.21
0.46
1976
 
101,591,200
111.6
2.72
0.47
1977
 
105,042,200
115.4
3.40
0.48
1978
 
109,686,600
120.5
4.42
0.49
1979
 
113,147,100
124.3
3.15
0.50
1980
 
113,983,200
125.2
0.74
0.50
1981
 
114,914,000
126.2
0.82
0.50
1982
 
114,163,300
125.4
-0.65
0.49
1983
 
115,645,700
127.0
1.30
0.49
1984
 
120,528,100
132.4
4.22
0.51
1985
 
123,796,700
136.0
2.71
0.52
1986
 
126,232,300
138.6
1.97
0.53
1987
 
129,548,400
142.3
2.63
0.53
1988
 
133,563,900
146.7
3.10
0.55
1989
 
136,177,800
149.6
1.96
0.55
1990
 
138,330,900
151.9
1.58
0.55
1991
 
137,612,800
151.1
-0.52
0.54
1992
 
138,166,100
151.7
0.40
0.54
1993
 
140,774,400
154.6
1.89
0.54
1994
 
144,196,600
158.4
2.43
0.55
1995
 
147,915,800
162.4
2.58
0.56
1996
 
151,056,200
165.9
2.12
0.56
1997
 
154,541,200
169.7
2.31
0.57
1998
 
158,481,200
174.1
2.55
0.57
1999
 
161,531,300
177.4
1.92
0.58
2000
 
165,370,800
181.6
2.38
0.59
2001
 
165,522,200
181.8
0.09
0.58
2002
 
165,095,100
181.3
-0.26
0.57
2003
 
165,921,500
182.2
0.50
0.57
2004
 
168,839,700
185.4
1.76
0.58
2005
 
172,338,400
189.3
2.07
0.58
2006
 
175,868,600
193.1
2.05
0.59
2007
 
179,543,700
197.2
2.09
0.60
2008
 
179,213,900
196.8
-0.18
0.59
2009
 
173,636,700
190.7
-3.11
0.57
2010
 
172,901,700
189.9
-0.42
0.56
2011
 
176,091,700
193.4
1.84
0.56
2012
 
178,979,700
196.6
1.64
0.57
2013
 
182,328,100
200.2
1.87
0.58
2014
 
186,239,800
204.5
2.15
0.58
2015
 
190,325,800
209.0
2.19
0.59
2016
 
193,425,900
212.4
1.63
0.60
2017
 
196,394,100
215.7
1.53
0.60
2018
 
200,292,200
220.0
1.98
0.61
2019
 
201,635,200
221.4
0.67
0.61
2020
 
195,286,600
214.5
-3.15
0.59
2021
 
202,752,100
222.7
3.82
0.61
2022
 
212,442,000
233.3
4.78
0.64
Source: Calculations by the Hawaii Regional Economic Analysis Project (HI-REAP)
with data provided by the U.S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of Economic Analysis
November 2023
REAP_PI_CA1400_1000_PN
 
   
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