Local economy robust, wage study says
By Susan Hooper
Advertiser Staff Writer
A new study of wages for O'ahu workers suggests that, in some respects, the local economy is healthier than some parts of the Mainland.
Advertiser library photo • May 2001
"Compared to other parts of the country, Hawai'i and Honolulu remain quite robust," said Stanley Stephenson, regional commissioner with the U.S. Department of Labor's Bureau of Labor Statistics in San Francisco.
A construction worker adjusted lighting at Ward Consolidated Theatres. A new study suggests construction industry wages are higher in HawaiÎi than on the Mainland.
In the annual National Compensation Survey, the bureau's researchers collected data from 192 private-sector, state and local government establishments in the City and County of Honolulu for the February 2001 survey. They examined the wages of 197,500 workers — nearly one-third of the state's work force.
The survey shows the average hourly wage for all Honolulu workers is $16.50 — down 26 cents, or 1.6 percent, from January 2000. The national average hourly wage was $15.36 in 1999, the latest year for which the bureau has data.
Stephenson said the decline could be due partly to Honolulu's relatively low inflation rate of 1.7 percent in the second half of 2000, compared with 3.4 percent nationally. Many employers tie raises to inflation rates.
Wages in Honolulu's construction industry are particularly strong compared to the Mainland, said Nancy Treadwell, a regional economist with the bureau.
The average hourly wage for Honolulu construction laborers was $18.91, 56 percent higher than the bureau's estimate of the national average hourly wage of $12.09 for construction workers in 2000, the latest year for which it has data.
