Which occupation groups are projected to generate the most living-wage job openings in Hawaiʻi between 2022 and 2032?
Workforce Understory Episode: Season 1, Episode 1 — The Geography of Opportunity
Geography: Statewide
Topic: Living-wage opportunity, projected job growth, and occupation groups
The takeaway
Business and Management occupations are projected to account for 28% of Hawaiʻi’s living-wage job openings between 2022 and 2032.
Construction and Repair occupations represent another 17%, followed by Healthcare occupations at 13%.
Together, these three occupation groups account for nearly six in ten projected living-wage openings statewide.
A large share of Hawaiʻi’s future living-wage opportunity is concentrated in just three parts of the workforce.
What this visualization shows
This visualization compares the distribution of projected living-wage job openings across major occupation groups in Hawaiʻi.
Business and Management represents the largest share, accounting for more than one-quarter of projected living-wage openings. Construction and Repair and Healthcare follow, each contributing a substantial number of opportunities.
The distribution shows that living-wage work is not spread evenly across the labor market. Some occupation groups are expected to create far more quality opportunities than others.
That concentration helps identify where workforce investments may have the greatest potential to connect people with economic mobility. It can inform decisions about career awareness, education and training capacity, employer partnerships, work-based learning, and advancement pathways.
At the same time, the visualization does not tell us whether every job within these groups is equally accessible or offers the same prospects for long-term mobility. Business and Management includes occupations with very different education and experience requirements. Construction and Repair includes both entry-level and highly skilled trades. Healthcare spans occupations requiring anything from short-term preparation to advanced professional degrees.
The occupation-group view therefore provides a starting point for deeper investigation rather than a complete workforce strategy.
Why this matters
Communities cannot build strong workforce pathways without understanding where living-wage opportunities exist at meaningful scale.
The concentration of projected openings in Business and Management, Construction and Repair, and Healthcare suggests that these occupation groups deserve sustained attention. Each may provide a different route into economic mobility.
Business and Management may offer broad advancement opportunities across many industries, but many positions require experience or a bachelor’s degree. Construction and Repair may provide more accessible routes through apprenticeships, technical education, and workplace learning. Healthcare may offer multiple entry points and advancement pathways, but education requirements vary significantly by occupation.
These differences matter because the number of openings alone does not determine whether people can reach them. Communities must also understand who can enter each pathway, what preparation is required, whether training capacity matches projected demand, and whether workers can continue advancing after they are hired.
The concentration also creates potential risk. If a large share of living-wage opportunity depends on a relatively small number of occupation groups, economic slowdowns, funding changes, automation, or shifts in employer demand could affect the availability of quality jobs across the state.
This evidence invites Hawaiʻi to ask:
How can communities strengthen access to the occupation groups creating the greatest number of living-wage opportunities while also building a more diverse and resilient economy?
Evidence:
Questions this visualization helps answer
What share of statewide living-wage openings is concentrated in Business and Management?
How significant are Construction and Repair and Healthcare within Hawaiʻi’s projected living-wage job market?
Which parts of the workforce may offer opportunity at sufficient scale to justify coordinated investment?
How evenly are living-wage openings distributed across occupation groups?
Where might education, training, and employer partnerships have the greatest potential reach?
Curiosity:
Questions this visualization raises
Are education and training pipelines in Construction and Healthcare large enough to meet projected demand?
How accessible are these occupation groups to people without four-year degrees?
Which specific occupations account for most of the openings within each group?
What education, credentials, licenses, experience, or technical skills do those occupations require?
How do projected opportunities differ across counties?
Are Business and Management opportunities concentrated in a small number of industries or available throughout the economy?
Which pathways allow workers to enter Construction, Healthcare, or Business occupations and continue advancing over time?
Are employers investing enough in apprenticeships, incumbent-worker training, and other earn-and-learn models?
What risks arise from concentrating so much living-wage opportunity in a small number of occupation groups?
Is this concentration narrowing or widening over time?
Which emerging occupations could help diversify Hawaiʻi’s future living-wage job market?
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