Hawaii’s economy continues to show signs of recovery

State’s unemployment picture continues to brighten

Initial unemployment claims in Hawaii dropped by nearly 13 percent from a year ago during the week of Sept. 17 after plummeting 18.3 percent during the week of Sept. 3, according to the Department of Business, Economic Development & Tourism.

There were a total of 1,892 claims filed statewide for the week of Sept 17, a 12.7 percent decrease from 2,168 claims filed during the same week in 2010, DBEDT said.

Among the counties, Kauai saw the biggest drop, with 19.3 percent fewer claims than a year ago. There were 130 initial claims on Kauai during the week of Sept. 17, down from 161 last year. Claims dropped by more than 15 percent in Hawaii and Maui counties. The Big Island had 309 initial jobless claims, which was 15.1 percent fewer than 364 claims last year, while Maui County had 306 initial claims, a 15.5 percent decrease from 362 claims in 2010. Oahu’s jobless claims fell 9.6 percent to 1,075 initial claims from 1,189 claims in 2010.

Hawaii’s unemployment rate declined to 6.5 percent in August, down two-tenths of a percentage point from the year before, according to statistics released Sept. 28 by the federal Bureau of Labor Statistics. Honolulu followed the same trend, dipping to 5.5 percent from 5.7 percent in August 2010, according to BLS data that was not seasonally adjusted.

While both Hawaii’s and Honolulu’s unemployment rates were one tenth of a percentage point higher in August than they were in July, they still were among the lowest unemployment rates in the nation. Honolulu was one of 74 metropolitan areas to post jobless rates of less than 7 percent, the BLS said in a statement.

Home sales go up, prices go down

The number of homes sold on Oahu showed double-digit growth in August, but the median price of single-family homes fell more than 13 percent, according to statistics from the Honolulu Board of Realtors.

There were 279 single-family homes sold last month, a 21 percent increase from the 231 homes sold in August 2010. The median price of $557,500 dropped significantly when compared to last year’s median price of $641,277.

Condominium sales rose 15 percent to 338 units sold, compared to 294 units sold in August 2010. The median price of an Oahu condo was $300,000, essentially flat when compared to the median price of $303,000 during August of last year.

Council on Revenues revises tax forecast upward

Hawaii’s Council on Revenues on Sept. 6 revised its forecast upward for the next fiscal year based on changes in tax law that are expected to bring in added revenue. The council raised the growth forecast for the current fiscal year, which began July 1, to 14.5 percent, an increase from the previous forecast of 11 percent, according to council Chairman Richard F. Kahle Jr.

The council is forecasting growth for Fiscal Year 2013 to be at 6.5 percent, which was an increase from the previous forecast of 6 percent, Kahle said. However, the 3 percent growth forecast in FY 2014 and 5 percent for each of the three years after that, were downgrades from the previous forecasts of 6 percent for each of those years, he said.

The council’s upward revision was based on anticipated increased revenues based on laws passed during the 2011 legislative session affecting Hawaii’s transient accommodations tax, exemptions to the state’s General Excise Tax and a motor vehicle surcharge.