Finding Jobs in Hawaii

Whenever you relocate, whether you’re moving to Hawaii or Idaho, one of the most important things to look at is what opportunities there will be for work. If you’re moving to Hawaii, hopefully this information will help you get a clearer picture on what to expect for the job market there – at least through 2009.

You may, as many, expect that the services industry would always be the strongest in Hawaii. It is usually strong since it’s such an attraction for tourists. From 2007-2009, it was projected that leisure and hospitality industries would see a .26 percent drop in jobs. The drop in the U.S. economy and the airline crisis decreasing means of air travel, there aren’t likely to be as many tourists. With two less cruise ships, there are 2,480 jobs to be lost in water transportation. Aloha and ATA closures takes out another 1,830 jobs. This all equals a drop in the number of jobs for those working in the food services or accommodations, as well.

The industries that are forecasted to grow the most are the largest ones, education and health services. There were 3,300 new jobs expected to open up from 2007-2009 in these areas. That’s an annual growth of 1.3 percent. Jobs in education look to be a good bet since 65 percent of those jobs were to be in education.

Local government jobs were expected to grow by an incredible 2.81 annual rate with 1,000 jobs. This is surprising since previously, Federal government was forecasted to decline with a small growth in state in government (Federal growth was projected to grow by 790 jobs, or .55 annual percent growth from 2007-2009).

If you work in the construction industry, you may have heard reports that it’ll be difficult to land a job in Hawaii. However, that may not be true. It has slowed some, but since there are many Federal contracts to build military housing, there’s still a silver lining.

Another area that is looking good is the professional and business services sector. From 2007-2009, there was a forecast of a .82 annual growth rate, with 71 percent to be in scientific, professional, and technical services. Company management professionals have a decent growth window of about 200 jobs in the same time frame.

The fastest growing jobs in Hawaii are probably going to be in training, education and library. Some others that are expected to grow at least one percent annually are community and social services, computer and mathematical science; protective support; and healthcare support.

Overall, Hawaii is doing well considering the state of the economy and unemployment. If you’re moving to Hawaii, you can see there are many areas in which you could likely find a good, stable job. Hopefully this information will help you decide where you should be looking. Employment should grow with over 20,000 jobs opening up in 2009, as was predicted for each year from 2007-2009.

For complete information and numbers specific to your needs, see the Employment Forecasts for Short Term Future for Hawaii, from the Department of Labor & Industrial Relations.