Surprisingly enough, the Brookings Institution said Thursday the city ranks in the top 20 nationwide for economic performance. While this may not ease the minds of everyone who struggles here from paycheck to paycheck, it is good news that Hawaii is sustaining in these tough economical times.
How did the study measure the results? It took into account the following five measures:
- Employment
- Unemployment
- Output
- Home Prices
- Foreclosure Rates
Apparently Honolulu did very well on unemployment and home prices.
” Honolulu ranked No. 1, meaning it had the lowest price change in the April-to-June quarter. Home prices in Honolulu were down just 2.7 percent, compared with an average drop of 8.6 percent nationwide, according to the Brookings Institution’s MetroMonitor.
So what spot was Hawaii exactly? Well, The Brookings Institution declined to reveal where it ranked Honolulu overall among the top 20, but it is still good news that we are this high.
“The median prices for Oahu single-family homes and condominiums have remained relatively stable,” Joyce Nakamura, president of the Honolulu Board of Realtors, said July 7 in a statement describing the market in June.
Unemployment in Hawaii has actually gone up, but compared to the rest of the national unemployment numbers it is still performing very well. he state reported Thursday that unemployment rose to 6.2 percent in August, up from 6.1 percent in July. Unemployment nationwide in August was 9.1 percent, unchanged from July.
There are also new jobs on the way, as Mark Dunkerley, president and CEO of Hawaiian Airlines, said Thursday his company will have added about 1,000 new jobs between 2010 and 2012 as it expands service to Asia and the mainland. Hawaiian currently employs 4,146.
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