A study says isle wages are higher than the U.S. average, but some jobs fare worse

Electricians, bartenders and hotel desk clerks in Honolulu make more than the national average in wages, according to a study released yesterday by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Child-care workers, elementary school teachers, truck drivers and security guards here, on the other hand, are making less than the national average. So are accountants, computer programmers and information system managers.

The federal agency analyzes the relative pay in each of nine major occupational groups in 78 metropolitan areas across the nation.

Overall, Honolulu's average pay for all occupations was 3 percent higher than the national average, according to the BLS study. But pay in Honolulu is lower than in West Coast cities like San Francisco and Salinas, Calif., which recorded pay that was 17 percent and 13 percent higher than the national average, respectively.

However, if you are thinking of moving to Las Vegas, consider that the pay there is actually 3 percent lower than the national average.

Brownsville, Texas, was at the bottom, recording pay that was 19 percent below the national average.

Charlotte Yee, spokeswoman for the federal agency, said the data is based on wages, salaries, commissions and production bonuses for a given metropolitan area relative to the nation as a whole.

It does not take into account the cost of living or the rate of inflation, which Honolulu economists have forecast at 5.2 percent this year. University of Hawaii economists said next year would bring higher unemployment rates and a sharp drop in real income growth.

Yee said the cost of living might also be a factor in pushing wages higher, though the BLS study does not consider that in its compensation study.

Nor does the study account for environmental amenities, such as a pleasant climate, or cultural amenities.

Honolulu had an unemployment rate in August of 2.8 percent, the lowest in the nation, according to the state Department of Labor and Industrial Relations.

In Honolulu some occupation categories did better than others in the labor study.

Jobs in service, construction, installation, maintenance and repair had pay well above the national average.

The state's construction boom might have been reflected in the data, which revealed that Honolulu construction workers made 7 percent more than the national average. Employees in installation, maintenance and repair made 10 percent more than the national average.

An electrician in Honolulu makes an average salary of $30.06 per hour, nearly double the national average of $15.89 per hour, according to the BLS.

A Honolulu hotel desk clerk makes an average of $15.16 per hour, compared with the national average of $8.56 per hour.

But an accountant in Honolulu made an average of $46,670 annually compared with the national average salary of $52,210. A computer and information systems manager in Honolulu made an average of $86,090 compared with the national average of $96,520.

Bank of Hawaii economist Paul Brewbaker said there is no direct correlation, necessarily, between the pay statistics and migration to and from Honolulu.

"You wouldn't move to Brownsville, Texas, based on this information because you suspect the cost of living is lower and that you'd be better off than in Honolulu," he said. "I'm not saying Brownsville is a bad place. ... There are benefits to life in Hawaii which do not appear as formal compensation."