Economy
US Marines Moving From Okinawa – Pacific Beat Interview
By Sumner La Croix The United States announced plans on June 20 to move about a quarter of the ~20,000 US marines based in Okinawa to Guam, Hawaii, the US mainland, the Philippines, and Australia over the next 13 years. Are those plans still moving forward? Yes, they are, but an editorial in last week’s […]
Read MoreUHERO 101.4: Record Visitors, Flat Spending
Last year is often described as a banner year for the Hawaii tourism industry. With record visitor arrivals close to 8 million, it is easy to come to the conclusion that tourism is stronger than ever in the state. Is the number of tourists in a destination the primary indicator to measure success of the […]
Read MoreUHERO 101.3: Can the Median Household afford the Median Home on Oahu?
With recent months of record low interest rates and a strengthening economy, individuals and families in Hawaii are increasingly looking into becoming homeowners. How realistic is this possibility? Do families have enough for the down payment, and will the median household income qualify for a loan? How will a monthly mortgage payment compare to the […]
Read MoreMost of Hawaii’s commercial seafood is imported, but recreational catch tips the scales back
Hawaii sits in the middle of the largest ocean on earth. So the majority of the seafood consumed on these islands must then come from local waters, right? The answer might surprise you. The average 2000 to 2009 annual commercial consumption in Hawaii was 38.9 million pounds per year, which is roughly 28.5 pounds per […]
Read MoreUHERO 101.2: Purchasing Power of Paradise
One dollar in Hawaii does not go as far as one dollar in South Dakota. Regional Price Parities (RPPs) measure differences in the price levels of goods and services across states and metropolitan areas for a given year. RPPs are expressed as a percentage of the overall national price level for each year. In 2011 […]
Read MoreUHERO 101.1: Unemployment Rate
How can economics help me understand the world around me? Check in every Friday for UHERO 101: explaining news that matters with basic economic concepts. UHERO cuts through the jargon and tells you what this means to you. Hawaii’s unemployment rate is often praised as being below the national average. While this is mathematically correct, there are […]
Read MoreBringing China to the Table
Radio Australia Interview: Implications for Pacific Countries 1. U.S. PRESIDENT OBAMA AND CHINA PRESIDENT XI ARE MEETING IN CALIFORNIA THIS WEEKEND. WHAT’S AT THE TOP OF THEIR AGENDA? Security issues will surely be number one, with three issues dominating: Cyber-security: Big U.S. concerns about cyber-attacks on U.S. government and industry computers. North Korea: Its unstable […]
Read MoreAre lodging costs starting to tame the tourist boom?
The latest visitor highlights from the Hawaii Tourism Authority (HTA) show that both visitor arrivals and spending continued to increase through the first quarter of 2013, albeit at a slower rate than last year. However visitors to the state appear to be booking shorter trips and spending less at local shops, perhaps in response to […]
Read MoreLatest Jobs Report Suggests Most Industries Recovering
Although slightly slower than in the second half of last year, conditions in the local job market continued to improve in the first quarter of 2013 according to the latest figures from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). The total number of nonfarm jobs in the state grew by 1.6% in the first quarter of […]
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