For example, Hawaii's unemployment rate for January was 5.8 percent. That was an increase of a tenth of a percentage point, with the number of unemployed increasing by 500, to 34,400. That's not good news. However, that rate was slightly lower than the national average of 5.9 percent.
The state continues to lose jobs - 2,800 in January - and until that trend is reversed it won't be possible to say that the economy is definitely improving. But unemployment is still not the problem it is in other states with higher rates.
Then there's personal bankruptcies. In the last few years they've been up sharply in Hawaii. In 1996, bankruptcy filings here jumped 42 percent over 1995, to a record 2,921. Still, Hawaii ranks fourth nationally among states with the lowest number of bankruptcies per 1,000 residents, at 2.64, according to CDB Infotek, a public records research firm. The highest number of bankruptcies per 1,000 residents is Georgia's - 10.51.
There's nothing to cheer about in a continuing loss of jobs and an increase in the number of bankruptcies. But the message to be drawn from these numbers is that the gloom about Hawaii's economy is being overdone. The problems could be a lot worse, and the chances are that they'll get better.
There is always a risk of injury in contact sports and the state has a responsibility to take reasonable measures to protect student athletes. Having decided to provide trainer positions for 15 high schools, the Legislature should find a way to fund trainers for those schools still lacking them.
Rupert E. Phillips, CEO
John M. Flanagan, Editor & Publisher
David Shapiro, Managing Editor
Diane Yukihiro Chang, Senior Editor & Editorial Page Editor
Frank Bridgewater & Michael Rovner, Assistant Managing Editors
A.A. Smyser, Contributing Editor