Blogs
Q & A: Annual Hawaii Forecast: Tourism Hot, But Broader Growth Still Elusive
1. UHERO RELEASED ITS ANNUAL HAWAII FORECAST TODAY WITH THE TITLE, “TOURISM HOT, BUT BROADER GROWTH STILL ELUSIVE.” THIS HAS BEEN THE STORY FOR QUITE A WHILE, RIGHT? Yes, tourism continues to expand at an impressive rate, and in many ways has more than recovered from the 2008-2009 downturn. But with a few exceptions, the rest […]
Read MoreUHERO Annual Hawaii Forecast: Tourism Hot, But Broader Growth Still Elusive
Hawaii’s recovery is proceeding along two very different tracks. The tourism industry is on a tear, posting impressive rates of growth. With a few exceptions, the rest of the local economy is going nowhere. Nevertheless, the best residential building conditions in years and pending public projects set the stage for a construction upturn in 2013. […]
Read MoreAnother weak employment report—still waiting on the Fed
The US economy has slowed markedly over the past several months with only 145,000 jobs added in April and May combined. The June Employment Situation released this morning by the US Bureau of Labor Statistics was more of the same. Another month of weak job growth. The 80,000 jobs created in June fell short of even the […]
Read MoreStill waiting for tourism boom to spread
Barring a complete meltdown of the European Union—by no means a sure thing—Hawaii’s visitor industry will break all records for arrivals and nominal visitor spending this year. The Hawaii Tourism Authority just released May data showing few signs of slowing. US visitor arrivals were up 8 percent compared with May 2011, while May arrivals from Japan (seasonally […]
Read MoreA Weak Employment Report for May
The Bureau of Labor Statistics released the State Employment and Unemployment Summary today, and just like the national numbers for May, the numbers for Hawaii were disappointing. In fact, Hawaii had one of the largest month-to-month percentage declines. “Alaska experienced the largest over-the-month percentage decline in employment (-0.8 percent), followed by New Mexico (-0.6 percent) and Delaware […]
Read MoreQ & A: Europe’s slow moving train wreck
1. BY FRIDAY OF LAST WEEK, US STOCK’S HAD GIVEN UP ALL OF THEIR 2012 GAINS, BUT THEN THE MARKET RALLIED BY ALMOST 3% IN THE FIRST THREE DAYS OF THIS WEEK. WHATS GOING ON? US stocks peaked this year in early April, but then weak economic news caught up with the market. A […]
Read MoreQ & A: Data Deluge!
1. THIS WAS A VERY BUSY WEEK FOR ECONOMIC NEWS. LETS START WITH THE HAWAII NEWS? Yesterday the Hawaii Tourism Authority released the April visitor numbers, and the string of strong visitor spending continues. April 2012 visitor spending of $1.17 billion was a record for the month of April, and after adjusting for seasonal variation […]
Read MoreQ & A: Positive Outlook on Hawaii Economy
1. UHERO RELEASED ITS SECOND QUARTER STATE FORECAST UPDATE—”VISITOR INDUSTRY STILL LEADING RECOVERY”. HOW STRONG IS THE VISITOR INDUSTRY RECOVER? In the first quarter of 2012, the total number of visitors to the state surged 8.5% above previous-year levels. Visitor days rose more than 9%, and spending is up more than 14%. We are forecasting […]
Read MoreSome Perspectives on Another Weak Employment Report
In April, US non-farm payroll jobs rose by a meager 115,000, and the unemployment rate fell slightly from 8.2% to 8.1% according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The lower unemployment rate resulted from a 196,000 decline in employment and an even larger 342,000 drop in the labor force. The civilian labor force participation rate fell […]
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