September 11th shock to economy easing slightly

By John Duchemin
Advertiser Staff Writer

Visitor arrivals have begun showing their first clear signs of recovery in recent days, and unemployment filings appear to be dropping — two signs that the immediate shock to Hawai'i's economy from the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks may be subsiding.

Mainland passenger arrivals to Honolulu ranged between 12 percent and 16 percent lower than 2000 levels on Friday, Saturday and Sunday, according to the latest state statistics. In the weeks following the attack, Mainland passenger counts were 20 percent to 40 percent lower than a year ago.

Although that still means the state's tourism industry is in worse shape than last year, the situation has improved in the past week, the state's top economic official said.

"These were the three best days in a long time," said Seiji Naya, director of the Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism.

Naya said a drop in new unemployment claims also is good.

More than 2,900 people filed new unemployment claims last week. Although that is more than twice the number in the same week last year, it's still better than the last few weeks. In the week ended Sept. 30, more than 5,000 new unemployment applications were filed, according to the Department of Labor and Industrial Relations.

But some caution not to read too much into the numbers. Arrivals from Japan, the second-most important source of visitors for the state, are still well off. Yesterday, Japanese arrivals were 55 percent lower than 2000. In addition, retail sales and hotel occupancies are still down, and the long-term picture remains uncertain.