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Report: Hawaii WASHINGTON -- A federal report released today confirmed what most Hawaii resident know all too well: the isles' economy trailed the mainland through much of the 1990s.
economy last in
U.S. during ’90s
A slow recovery from the
recession and the Asian crisis
are cited for the poor showingFrom staff and wire reports
Hawaii's gross state product, which measures total economic output, posted a decline of 0.5 percent from 1992 to 1998, according to a Commerce Department report. That was the worst showing among the 50 states, with Alaska recording the next-worst performance with a 0.4 percent drop.
By comparison, gross domestic product -- a related national indicator that includes military spending and government spending overseas -- grew at 3.6 percent per year, the department said.
The report noted that declines or weakness in Hawaii's gross state product "were widespread in all major industries."
A slow recovery from the nationwide 1990-91 recession and the affects of the Asian financial crisis were to blame, the department said.
In recent months, Hawaii's economy has been showing signs of recovery, led by soaring tourist arrivals, and home and retail sales.
The Commerce report detailed the economic boom that most mainland states enjoyed through much of the 1990s, with Western states recording the best gains.
Arizona and Oregon recorded the top growth, at 7.5 percent and 7.2 percent, respectively, thanks to strength in semiconductor and electronics manufacturing as well as business services. New economy industries also contributed to rapid growth in eight other Western states and in Georgia and New Hampshire.
An exception was California. While a leader in high technology and having the largest economy of any state, California saw its gross state product grow at an average annual rate of 3.2 percent. California began its recovery from the 1990-1991 recession two years later than the rest of the country, a recent Federal Reserve Bank study showed.
The other leading states were Nevada, with average annual growth of 6.9 percent; Utah at 6.9 percent; Colorado at 6.6 percent; New Hampshire, 6.3 percent; New Mexico, 6.2 percent; Idaho, 6.1 percent; Georgia, 5.8 percent; and Texas, 5.6 percent.
Other than Hawaii and Alaska, many states suffering slow economic growth during the 1990s were in the East.
Bloomberg News contributed to this report.