BUSINESS BRIEFS
Fewer job offers likely next year
Advertiser Staff and News Services
Honolulu employers are less optimistic about their hiring plans for the first quarter of 2007 compared to the same period a year earlier, according to the Manpower Employment Outlook Survey.
During the first quarter, 38 percent of companies interviewed plan to hire more employees, while 24 percent expect to reduce their payrolls, according to Manpower spokesperson Sunny Ackerman. Another 31 percent expect to maintain their current staff levels and 7 percent are not certain of their hiring plans.
Job prospects in the coming quarter appear best in transportation/public utilities, finance/insurance/real estate and public administration, according to the survey. Employers in construction and education plan to reduce staffing levels.
PASSENGER COUNT UP AT HAWAIIAN
Hawaiian Airlines said it flew 530,159 passengers in November, up 8.6 percent from the same month last year.
The state's largest airline said its planes were 85 percent full last month, down 4.4 percentage points from November 2005's 89.4 percent.
The airline also recorded 609.3 million revenue passenger miles in November, up 7.8 percent from the previous November. Available seat miles were 716.8 million, up 13.4 percent from last November.
GO! RIVALS MATCH $29 ONE-WAY FARE
Hawaiian and Aloha airlines said they would match competitor go! airline's $29 one-way fare for interisland flights.
Go! said it would offer the special fare for travel through Jan. 31. The special fare is subject to restrictions, and tickets must be purchased by midnight Dec. 18.
GENERAL FUND TAX REVENUE UP
Hawai'i's general fund tax revenues totaled $1.84 billion for the first five months of this fiscal year, a 3.8 percent increase compared with the same period a year ago, the state Department of Taxation reported yesterday.
The state's strong economy helped boost general excise tax collections to $1.07 billion for the July-through-November period, a 10 percent increase over the same period a year ago. Withholding taxes on wages rose by 5.7 percent to $536 million so far this fiscal year compared with the same period a year ago.
