Updated at 4:41 p.m., Friday, February 2, 2007
Report: Making ends meet harder to do in Hawai'i
Advertiser Staff
A new University of Hawai'i report shows there is a widening gap between what people earn in the Islands and what they need to make ends meet.The report, called "Economic Well-Being in Hawai'i: Family and Individual Self-Sufficiency," was issued by the University of Hawai'i Center on the Family and Aloha United Way.
It shows a single-parent family with two young children needs $54,644 to get by on O'ahu on a no-frills budget.
It also shows housing costs increased by 70 percent in Honolulu between 2002 and 2005. There were also increases in other areas, including transportation, healthcare, child care and food.
However, between 2002 and 2005 the average wage in Hawai'i only increased by 5.5 percent, according to the report.
"The individuals and families not earning self-sufficient wages are not only the very poor," said Susan Doyle, president of Aloha United Way. "They include many who are gainfully employed."
The report is based on the basic costs of supporting a family in the Islands and defines self-sufficiency as having enough money to meet basic needs without governmental or other subsidies, a news release said.
The full report will be available on the center's Web site later this month.
