Blogs
Q & A: Legislative recap
1. SO WHAT DOES THE STATE HAVE PLANNED FOR THE NEXT TWO FISCAL YEARS? A review of the budget shows three main points: –Increased spending on education, medical, other state services. –Big increases in spending on capital projects. –Important state reserve funds have not been replenished. 2. LET’S LOOK AT EACH ONE OF THESE. WHAT’S […]
Read MoreQ & A: Unemployment Numbers
1. HAWAII’S UNEMPLOYMENT RATE SEEMS TO ALWAYS BE BELOW THE US UNEMPLOYMENT RATE. HOW LONG HAS THIS BEEN GOING ON? Since the mid-1970s. It’s below the US rate in good time and in bad times.Consider the February 2012 unemployment rates for Hawaii and the US: Hawaii: 6.4% US: 8.3%. A difference of 1.9%.. 2. SO […]
Read MoreQ & A: The Fight Over Cycling Bike Lanes
1. HONOLULU HAS SEEN CONTROVERSIES RECENTLY OVER ESTABLISHING OR EXPANDING DEDICATED BICYCLE LANES. SHOULD THE CITY BE EXPANDING HONOLULU’S BIKE LANES? Yes. And for several very good reasons. First, given the current obesity epidemic, the City ought to be encouraging activities that provide residents with more opportunities to exercise. Bicycling lanes provide such opportunities. Second, […]
Read MoreDisappointing Employment Report
The addition of 120,000 jobs in March was much less than expected. The consensus was for an increase of 201,000 jobs and for no change in the unemployment rate. From the US Bureau of Labor Statistics March 2012 Employment Situation: Nonfarm payroll employment rose by 120,000 in March, and the unemployment rate was little changed at 8.2 […]
Read MoreGoing 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 […]
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