Hawaii Ranks High in Low Unemployment


August 24, 2012

Most people considering a move to Maui are concerned about one major issue. They visit the island, they of course fall in love with it, and then they have to consider how they will make a living here. Hawaii doesn’t have the best economic reputation, perhaps because an isolated island economy is different than the contiguous states, but the numbers tell a different story.

You might be surprised to hear that Hawaii ranked 15th among all 50 states for lowest unemployment levels. Far from being one of the hardest states to get a job in, we have 35 states below us, and 14 above. That information comes from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

One of the other factors they calculate is economic change, for better or worse. Although our unemployment levels were low, the fall of unemployment was slow. For example, Nevada had the highest unemployment with 11.6 percent compared to our 6.4 percent, but their unemployment fell by 2.2 percentage points since the same time last year, whereas Hawaii’s only changed by dropping 0.3 percent. That made us number 44 in terms of change, with Nevada coming in at number 1 in terms of change.

This information covers a few economic questions for all the states. Where are we? Where are we going? How fast are we getting there? Hopefully this data will help potential residents make the right decisions when it comes to moving and buying a home on Maui, along with the other islands.



You may also like…