Hawaii personal income
to grow 3.4 percent
this year, state says

The state also expects
a record 7.4 million
visitor arrivals in 2005

The state Department of Business, Economic Development & Tourism predicts Hawaii personal income will increase 3.4 percent in inflation-adjusted terms this year, to $43.4 billion, while total wage and salary jobs will grow 2.4 percent to 603,800.

The department's Quarterly Statistical and Economic Report for the third quarter of 2005, released yesterday, predicts gains in employment, income and visitor arrivals for the rest of this year and next year.

The department predicts a record 7.4 million visitors in 2005, up 6.1 percent from 2004. The previous record was set in 2000, when the state had nearly 7 million visitors.

The report also said the state gained 16,250 jobs in the second quarter of 2005 from the same period in 2004, an increase of 2.8 percent. Contributing to the growth were 3,000 new construction jobs, 2,800 new professional and business services jobs, 2,400 new retail jobs and 2,100 new jobs in the transportation, warehousing and utilities sector.

"We continue to be pleased with Hawaii's current economic performance and optimistic about the year to come," said Ted Liu, the department's director. "In June, our robust job growth once again made Hawaii's unemployment rate the lowest in the nation."