Economics Of Hawaii

Economics Of Hawaii

Hawaii has an area of 28,313 sq. kilometers(10,932sq miles) and is the 43rd largest
state in the United States. 6.9% of the land is owned by the federal government. The
Hawaiian islands consist of 8 mainland islands and 124 islets, reefs, and shoals.
The major islands in order of size are Hawaii, Maui, Oahu, Kauai, Molokai, Lanai,
Nihau, and Kahoolawe. Population growth over the last 5 years has increased by
80,000 people. Demographics show a large number from the Asian-Hispanic,
Asian, and white. Hawaii’s economy has long been dominated plantation
agriculture and military spending. As agriculture has declined in importance, the
economy has diversified to encompass a large tourism business and growing
manufacturing industry.
Hawaii economy has changed drastically since statehood. In 1958, defense,
sugar and pineapple were the primary economic activities. This accounted for 40%
of Gross State Product (GSP). In contrast, visitor related expenditure stood at just
over 4% of Hawaii’s GSP prior to statehood. Today the positions are reversed;
sugar and pineapple constituted about 1% of GSP, defense is just under 11%, while
visitor related spending accounted for about 24% of Hawaii’s GSP.
The movement towards a service and trade based economy becomes even
more apparent when considering the distribution of Hawaii’s jobs across sectors.
The share of jobs in manufacturing and agriculture have declined steadily since
1959, and each makes up less than 4% of total economy. At the same time, jobs in
wholesale, retail trade, and service have risen, standing at about 23% and 28%
respectively.
Since 1991, Hawaii’s economy has suffered from rising rates of
unemployment. This stands in marked contrast to the period 1980 to 1993, when
the state had very low unemployment rates compared to the United States as a
whole. But by 1994, the recession had raised Hawaii’s unemployment to the
national average(6.1%) for the first time in 15 years. In 1995, the...