Isles’ unemployment rate dipped to 6.6% last year
Hawaii ranks seventh lowest in the country; 6 percent joblessness forecast for this year
By Star-Advertiser staff
Article from: Star-Advertiser
Hawaii’s unemployment rate fell slightly in 2010 to 6.6 percent, the seventh lowest rate in the country.
Last year’s rate was down from 6.8 percent in 2009, but up from 4.1 percent in 2008, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported yesterday.
Hawaii’s job market should continue to strengthen this year, knocking the rate down to 6 percent, according to the University of Hawaii Economic Research Organization. The UHERO forecast released earlier this month calls for the rate to drop further to 5.3 percent in 2012 and 3.8 percent in 2013.
Hawaii’s rising unemployment rate from 2007 through 2010 was the result of the recession and a weak recovery that was not robust enough to “generate satisfactory job creation,” UHERO economists wrote in a report.
The economists said they expect the labor market to pick up, in part, because of the jobs that will be generated by the city’s rail project.
“The feeble job gains of the past year do not portend continuing labor market stagnation. Instead, more broadly based improvement will be seen in 2011 and 2012 as the Hawaii recovery strengthens and Oahu rail transit construction gets under way,” they wrote in the report.
The bureau report included revisions to the monthly unemployment data for 2010. Hawaii’s rate was higher in five months and lower in three months than originally reported. It was unrevised in four months.
One of the downward changes was for December, in which the bureau revised the rate to 6.3 percent from the 6.4 percent reported last month.
THE LOWDOWN
10 lowest unemployment rates in 2010
1. North Dakota 3.9%
2. Nebraska 4.7%
3. South Dakota 4.8%
4. Iowa 6.1%
5. New Hampshire 6.1%
6. Vermont 6.2%
7. Hawaii 6.6%
8. Virginia 6.9%
9. Kansas 7.0%
10. Wyoming 7.0%
U.S. average 9.6%
Saturday, February 26, 2011
Friday, February 25, 2011
Hawaii Visitor Spending and Arrivals Increased in January for the 11th Consecutive Month
Visitor arrivals up 12% in January, spending up 20%
By Allison Schaefers
Article from: Star-Advertiser
Hawaii achieved its eleventh consecutive month of increased visitor spending and arrivals in January, according to preliminary statistics released today by the Hawaii Tourism Authority.
A high-single digit increase from the U.S. East and double-digit arrivals growth from the U.S. West, Japan, Canada and cruise ships helped boost visitor arrivals last month to 597,487, up 12.2 percent from a year ago. Likewise, visitor spending rose to $1.2 billion, a 19.8 percent gain from the prior year. January’s gain represented the 9th consecutive month of double-digit increases in overall spending.
The return of the Pro Bowl coupled with a slight pickup in meetings, convention and incentive traffic were behind the industry rebound, said Mike McCartney, HTA’s president and CEO. Stronger airplane passenger loads and increased flights also contributed, McCartney said.
“We look forward to taking advantage of rebounds in this market, as well as continued growth and interest in Hawaii as a global meetings destination as we draw closer to hosting the 2011 APEC Leaders Summit in November,” he said.
By Allison Schaefers
Article from: Star-Advertiser
Hawaii achieved its eleventh consecutive month of increased visitor spending and arrivals in January, according to preliminary statistics released today by the Hawaii Tourism Authority.
A high-single digit increase from the U.S. East and double-digit arrivals growth from the U.S. West, Japan, Canada and cruise ships helped boost visitor arrivals last month to 597,487, up 12.2 percent from a year ago. Likewise, visitor spending rose to $1.2 billion, a 19.8 percent gain from the prior year. January’s gain represented the 9th consecutive month of double-digit increases in overall spending.
The return of the Pro Bowl coupled with a slight pickup in meetings, convention and incentive traffic were behind the industry rebound, said Mike McCartney, HTA’s president and CEO. Stronger airplane passenger loads and increased flights also contributed, McCartney said.
“We look forward to taking advantage of rebounds in this market, as well as continued growth and interest in Hawaii as a global meetings destination as we draw closer to hosting the 2011 APEC Leaders Summit in November,” he said.
Thursday, February 24, 2011
Heavy Traffic From Thursday and Friday’s Elton John Concerts Anticipated
Heavy traffic from Elton John concert anticipated
Article from: The Maui News
February 23, 2011
KAHULUI – The Elton John concert is expected to generate heavy traffic Thursday and Friday when concert-goers converge on the Maui Arts & Cultural Center.
Gates to the concert area will open at 6 p.m. Thursday and 5:30 p.m. Friday.
Reserved parking passes for the center’s lot have been sold for $25 each. If extra spaces are available, those will be sold for $25 cash, according to the center.
Parking in the main lot at the University of Hawaii Maui College also has been pre-sold for $15. Parking also will be available on the day of the show for $15 cash at the college’s drive-in field parking lot off Wahinepio Avenue and at Keopuolani Park, which will be closed to the public.
Parking lots will be open at 3 p.m., and spaces will be available on a first-come, first-served basis.
Article from: The Maui News
February 23, 2011
KAHULUI – The Elton John concert is expected to generate heavy traffic Thursday and Friday when concert-goers converge on the Maui Arts & Cultural Center.
Gates to the concert area will open at 6 p.m. Thursday and 5:30 p.m. Friday.
Reserved parking passes for the center’s lot have been sold for $25 each. If extra spaces are available, those will be sold for $25 cash, according to the center.
Parking in the main lot at the University of Hawaii Maui College also has been pre-sold for $15. Parking also will be available on the day of the show for $15 cash at the college’s drive-in field parking lot off Wahinepio Avenue and at Keopuolani Park, which will be closed to the public.
Parking lots will be open at 3 p.m., and spaces will be available on a first-come, first-served basis.
Saturday, February 19, 2011
Tourism in Hawaii Forecasted to Exceed 2006 Peak Level By 2013
Tourism in Hawaii Forecasted to Exceed 2006 Peak Level By 2013
Economy will grow 2% this year, state predicts
A Hawaii economist forecasts employment to rebound only after other sectors improve
By Kristen Consillio
STAR-ADVERTISER
The state expects visitor spending to jump 9.2 percent this year. “We are encouraged by the continued improvement in our economy, especially with respect to our construction industry,” DBEDT Director Richard Lim said yesterday in a statement.
Hawaii’s economy will grow slightly faster this year than previously expected, but job recovery won’t be realized until 2014, according to a state economist.
Boosted by a strong rebound in visitor spending and construction jobs, the state revised yesterday growth projections for overall gross domestic product — the broadest measure of economic activity in Hawaii — to 2 percent this year, according to a quarterly report released yesterday by the Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism. That’s up from the 1.8 percent increase predicted in November.
IMPROVED OUTLOOK
Percentage changes forecast through 2013:
2011 2012 2013
Visitor arrivals 4.0 2.5 2.5
Visitor spending 9.2 5.6 5.4
Honolulu inflation 2.2 2.3 2.3
Wage and salary jobs 1.3 1.5 1.8
Personal income* 1.0 1.7 1.9
Gross domestic product* 2.0 2.1 2.4
* Adjusted for inflation
Source: State Department of Business, Economic Development & Tourism
However, it will take three years for jobs to return to the 2007 peak level of about 631,000, Eugene Tian, acting state economist, said yesterday.
“Employment is still lagging the economic growth,” he said. “The job recovery will be coming later than the other indicators in the economy.”
The biggest upward revision among the various economic indicators was visitor spending, which DBEDT now predicts will grow 9.2 percent to $12.66 billion in 2011, as a result of a boost in tourists from higher-spending markets such as China and South Korea, as well as higher hotel room rates. DBEDT previously forecast an 8.4 percent increase.
Tourism will exceed the 2006 peak level of 7.6 million visitors by 2013, moving the economy from recovery to expansion, according to the report.
The job market also is improving, with the growth in payroll jobs revised upward to 1.3 percent this year from the 1.1 percent rise previously forecast, primarily due to new building projects.
The construction industry reversed 29 months of declines when it began to add jobs in October. The value of commercial and industrial building permits increased 32.5 percent last year, DBEDT Director Richard Lim said yesterday in a statement.
“We are encouraged by the continued improvement in our economy, especially with respect to our construction industry,” he said.
Economy will grow 2% this year, state predicts
A Hawaii economist forecasts employment to rebound only after other sectors improve
By Kristen Consillio
STAR-ADVERTISER
The state expects visitor spending to jump 9.2 percent this year. “We are encouraged by the continued improvement in our economy, especially with respect to our construction industry,” DBEDT Director Richard Lim said yesterday in a statement.
Hawaii’s economy will grow slightly faster this year than previously expected, but job recovery won’t be realized until 2014, according to a state economist.
Boosted by a strong rebound in visitor spending and construction jobs, the state revised yesterday growth projections for overall gross domestic product — the broadest measure of economic activity in Hawaii — to 2 percent this year, according to a quarterly report released yesterday by the Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism. That’s up from the 1.8 percent increase predicted in November.
IMPROVED OUTLOOK
Percentage changes forecast through 2013:
2011 2012 2013
Visitor arrivals 4.0 2.5 2.5
Visitor spending 9.2 5.6 5.4
Honolulu inflation 2.2 2.3 2.3
Wage and salary jobs 1.3 1.5 1.8
Personal income* 1.0 1.7 1.9
Gross domestic product* 2.0 2.1 2.4
* Adjusted for inflation
Source: State Department of Business, Economic Development & Tourism
However, it will take three years for jobs to return to the 2007 peak level of about 631,000, Eugene Tian, acting state economist, said yesterday.
“Employment is still lagging the economic growth,” he said. “The job recovery will be coming later than the other indicators in the economy.”
The biggest upward revision among the various economic indicators was visitor spending, which DBEDT now predicts will grow 9.2 percent to $12.66 billion in 2011, as a result of a boost in tourists from higher-spending markets such as China and South Korea, as well as higher hotel room rates. DBEDT previously forecast an 8.4 percent increase.
Tourism will exceed the 2006 peak level of 7.6 million visitors by 2013, moving the economy from recovery to expansion, according to the report.
The job market also is improving, with the growth in payroll jobs revised upward to 1.3 percent this year from the 1.1 percent rise previously forecast, primarily due to new building projects.
The construction industry reversed 29 months of declines when it began to add jobs in October. The value of commercial and industrial building permits increased 32.5 percent last year, DBEDT Director Richard Lim said yesterday in a statement.
“We are encouraged by the continued improvement in our economy, especially with respect to our construction industry,” he said.
Friday, February 18, 2011
Borders Bankruptcy Won’t Affect Maui Stores
Borders bankruptcy won’t affect Maui stores
Two branches on Big Island, Kauai will be shut down
By MELISSA TANJI, Staff Writer
Article from: The Maui News
KAHULUI – Maui shoppers are pleased that the two Borders bookstores on the island would not be closing despite Borders’ parent company filing for bankruptcy protection Wednesday.
The Borders Books Music Movies & Cafe at Maui Marketplace and the Borders Express store at the Queen Ka’ahumanu Center will remain open and are not affected by the bankruptcy, store officials said Wednesday morning.
Kevin Tanaka, the service manager at the Maui Marketplace store, said it was “business as usual,” and customers were waiting outside the store’s door before it opened, which is a common occurrence.
Only two stores in Hawaii will be closed, one in Kailua-Kona on the Big Island and the other in Lihue on Kauai, according to a bankruptcy filing.
The company said it will close about 200 of its 642 stores in the next few weeks. It cited cautious consumer spending, negotiations with vendors and a lack of liquidity as reasons for its troubles.
Kihei resident Stella Saadnia, who visits the Maui Marketplace Borders about once a week, said she likes the store’s variety of CDs, books and magazines and enjoys its cafe, where she can meet people and hang out.
“I like that it has a lot of different things,” she said outside the store Wednesday morning.
She also said it would be sad if the store were on the chopping block, noting that she still likes to read books despite the trend of people turning to electronics to read stories.
“I like the old-fashioned way,” she said.
Pukalani resident Robert Tomlinson said he feels the same way.
“I have a library at home,” he said outside the Maui Marketplace store. He added that he reads five books at a time and loves to give books away as gifts. Tomlinson said Borders has a good selection of Buddhist books as well as other religious books.
The Borders stores in Kahului and the Barnes & Nobles bookstore in Lahaina are the only two large major bookstore chains on the island.
Borders store officials said the Borders Express store at Piilani Village in Kihei closed about a month ago. Borders Express stores at the Whalers Village in Kaanapali and Lahaina Cannery Mall closed in January 2009.
Two branches on Big Island, Kauai will be shut down
By MELISSA TANJI, Staff Writer
Article from: The Maui News
KAHULUI – Maui shoppers are pleased that the two Borders bookstores on the island would not be closing despite Borders’ parent company filing for bankruptcy protection Wednesday.
The Borders Books Music Movies & Cafe at Maui Marketplace and the Borders Express store at the Queen Ka’ahumanu Center will remain open and are not affected by the bankruptcy, store officials said Wednesday morning.
Kevin Tanaka, the service manager at the Maui Marketplace store, said it was “business as usual,” and customers were waiting outside the store’s door before it opened, which is a common occurrence.
Only two stores in Hawaii will be closed, one in Kailua-Kona on the Big Island and the other in Lihue on Kauai, according to a bankruptcy filing.
The company said it will close about 200 of its 642 stores in the next few weeks. It cited cautious consumer spending, negotiations with vendors and a lack of liquidity as reasons for its troubles.
Kihei resident Stella Saadnia, who visits the Maui Marketplace Borders about once a week, said she likes the store’s variety of CDs, books and magazines and enjoys its cafe, where she can meet people and hang out.
“I like that it has a lot of different things,” she said outside the store Wednesday morning.
She also said it would be sad if the store were on the chopping block, noting that she still likes to read books despite the trend of people turning to electronics to read stories.
“I like the old-fashioned way,” she said.
Pukalani resident Robert Tomlinson said he feels the same way.
“I have a library at home,” he said outside the Maui Marketplace store. He added that he reads five books at a time and loves to give books away as gifts. Tomlinson said Borders has a good selection of Buddhist books as well as other religious books.
The Borders stores in Kahului and the Barnes & Nobles bookstore in Lahaina are the only two large major bookstore chains on the island.
Borders store officials said the Borders Express store at Piilani Village in Kihei closed about a month ago. Borders Express stores at the Whalers Village in Kaanapali and Lahaina Cannery Mall closed in January 2009.
Thursday, February 17, 2011
Enjoying Maui Deagle Style
Some times I get so caught up working I forget to take a moment to slow down and enjoy Hawaii for what it has to offer. So for all of those who are trapped in poor weather and are over worked, take a deep breath and take a mini vacation with me.
In other news, and in an effort to enjoy my dog’s company more, Deagle and I will be blogging pet related information such as pet friendly complex reviews, top picks, and quarantine processes.
Aloha from Maui
In other news, and in an effort to enjoy my dog’s company more, Deagle and I will be blogging pet related information such as pet friendly complex reviews, top picks, and quarantine processes.
Aloha from Maui
Tuesday, February 15, 2011
Government of Singapore Offers to Buy Grand Wailea and Four Other Elite Resorts
Government of Singapore offers to buy Grand Wailea
Proposal is for 5 elite resorts
February 15, 2011 – By HARRY EAGAR, Staff Writer
Article from: The Maui News
According to Bloomberg News, the government of Singapore is offering to buy the Grand Wailea and four other resorts that the Paulson & Co. group put into bankruptcy Feb. 1.
The reported offer of $1.5 billion is close to what the five elite resorts have been valued at in a complicated change of ownership that resulted from Morgan Stanley’s takeover of CNL Resorts.
Bloomberg said the offer was revealed in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Manhattan on Monday.
The bidder is the Government of Singapore Investment Corp., a sovereign-wealth fund.
Sovereign-wealth funds are investment businesses run by governments that, like Singapore, enjoy large trade surpluses and need to find ways to use their foreign currency balances. The fund has $100 billion and, according to Bloomberg, is one of the creditors of the resorts.
An investment group led by the Paulson hedge fund managed to take over the Grand Wailea by foreclosing on the previous owner. But the five resorts were pledged as collateral for a billion-dollar loan, and while the new owners tried to work out a restructuring and extension of the debts, they did not do so by a Feb. 1 deadline.
Hence, the bankruptcy filing.
At Monday’s hearing, Judge Sean Lane approved an order allowing the resorts to use the cash collateral of lenders until Feb. 28. “Without access to the cash, the resorts won’t be able to operate and the ‘entire restructuring may be jeopardized,’ lawyers said in court papers,” according to Bloomberg.
Proposal is for 5 elite resorts
February 15, 2011 – By HARRY EAGAR, Staff Writer
Article from: The Maui News
According to Bloomberg News, the government of Singapore is offering to buy the Grand Wailea and four other resorts that the Paulson & Co. group put into bankruptcy Feb. 1.
The reported offer of $1.5 billion is close to what the five elite resorts have been valued at in a complicated change of ownership that resulted from Morgan Stanley’s takeover of CNL Resorts.
Bloomberg said the offer was revealed in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Manhattan on Monday.
The bidder is the Government of Singapore Investment Corp., a sovereign-wealth fund.
Sovereign-wealth funds are investment businesses run by governments that, like Singapore, enjoy large trade surpluses and need to find ways to use their foreign currency balances. The fund has $100 billion and, according to Bloomberg, is one of the creditors of the resorts.
An investment group led by the Paulson hedge fund managed to take over the Grand Wailea by foreclosing on the previous owner. But the five resorts were pledged as collateral for a billion-dollar loan, and while the new owners tried to work out a restructuring and extension of the debts, they did not do so by a Feb. 1 deadline.
Hence, the bankruptcy filing.
At Monday’s hearing, Judge Sean Lane approved an order allowing the resorts to use the cash collateral of lenders until Feb. 28. “Without access to the cash, the resorts won’t be able to operate and the ‘entire restructuring may be jeopardized,’ lawyers said in court papers,” according to Bloomberg.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)