Blogs
Going green: Green jobs in Hawaii
According to a March 22, 2012 press release from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), in 2010 there were 3.1 million “green” jobs in the United States of which 15,583 were located in Hawaii. The number at first might seem to be low compared to other states. However, percentage wise the number of people employed in “green” […]
Read MoreQ & A: Hawaii’s Green Energy Bank
1. HAWAII’S STATE LEGISLATORS HAVE BEEN CONSIDERING A PROPOSAL TO ESTABLISH A STATE-RUN BANK TO FUND CLEAN ENERGY PROJECTS. HOW IS THIS BANK SUPPOSED TO WORK. House bill 1033 would establish a clean energy bank. The bill has been approved by the Senate’s Energy and Environment Committee. The state-run bank would make low-interest loans to […]
Read MoreHawaii’s unemployment rate revised up for 2009-2011
According to the latest regional labor force data reported by the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), the seasonally adjusted unemployment rate in Hawaii fell by 0.1% point to 6.5% in January 2012. However, the 0.1% drop was entirely the result of a 0.2% decline in the labor force. In fact, the employment level fell by 0.1%, and […]
Read MoreQ & A: Construction Edging Toward Recovery
1. UHERO RELEASED ITS ANNUAL CONSTRUCTION REPORT THIS MORNING. THIS IS A SECTOR THAT HAS BEEN HARD HIT BY THE GREAT RECESSION ISN’T IT. That’s correct, from a peak of just under 40,000 construction jobs in February of 2008, the industry has shed 12,000 jobs, and continued to loose jobs during 2011. And, total inflation […]
Read MoreEmployment Report: US economy adds 227,000 jobs in February
The US Bureau of Labor Statistics released the February 2012 Employment Situation this morning with another month of better than expected jobs numbers. The consensus was for an increase of 204,000 jobs and for no change in the unemployment rate in February. From the BLS: Nonfarm payroll employment rose by 227,000 in February, and the unemployment rate was unchanged […]
Read MoreQ & A: Da Budget, Compromise and Policy Failures
1. ANOTHER BUSY WEEK WITH LOT TO DISCUSS. ON MONDAY THE PRESIDENT RELEASED HIS BUDGET PROPOSAL, BY WEDNESDAY HAD PLENTY OF EVIDENCE OF CONTINUED EURO-AREA POLICY FAILURES, AND BY THURSDAY THE HOUSE REPUBLICANS APPEARED TO HAVE COMPROMISED ON THE PAYROLL TAX EXTENSION. SO MUCH NEWS SO LITTLE TIME! LETS START WITH THE BUDGET. The President’s […]
Read MoreDr. Makena Coffman named new Director of Energy and Greenhouse Gas Solutions (EGGS)
UHERO is pleased to introduce our new Director of Energy and Greenhouse Gas Solutions (EGGS), Dr. Makena Coffman. Dr. Coffman is a UHERO Research Fellow and Assistant Professor of Urban and Regional Planning. She brings expertise in greenhouse gas reduction strategies, sustainability planning, and computable general equilibrium modeling.
Read MoreStronger than Expected Employment Report
1. THE US BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS RELEASED ITS MONTHLY EMPLOYMENT REPORT THIS MORNING AND REPORTED ANOTHER DECREASE IN THE US UNEMPLOYMENT RATE? Yes, this was a better jobs report than most economists expected. The consensus was for 135,000 jobs to be created in January and the total nonfarm job count posted an increase of […]
Read MoreGDP Release Adds to Speculation of Further Fed Easing
Q1. THERE HAS BEEN A LARGE AMOUNT OF ECONOMIC NEWS THIS WEEK, CAN YOU SUMMARIZE WHERE THINGS STAND? A1. This was a busy week. On Tuesday we found out that Hawaii’s unemployment rate rose to 6.6% in December; on Wednesday the Federal Reserve released their forecast for the US economy and new forecasts of what […]
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