Which occupation groups are projected to generate the most below-living-wage job openings in Hawaiʻi between 2022 and 2032?
Workforce Understory Episode: Season 1, Episode 1 — The Geography of Opportunity
Geography: Statewide
Topic: Below-living-wage work, projected job growth, and occupation groups
The takeaway
This visualization compares the distribution of projected below-living-wage job openings across major occupation groups in Hawaiʻi.
Food Service dominates the picture, accounting for nearly one in three openings below the living-wage threshold. Administrative, Retail and Sales, Transportation, and Cleaning and Maintenance occupations also represent significant shares of projected low-wage opportunity.
The distribution reflects the structure of Hawaiʻi’s economy. Many of the occupation groups expected to generate large numbers of openings are connected to tourism, hospitality, retail, transportation, property operations, and other services that support residents and visitors.
The presence of Healthcare and Education is especially important. These broad occupation groups include jobs with very different wage levels and education requirements. Some roles provide strong wages and career advancement, while others remain below the living-wage threshold despite supporting services that communities depend on every day.
The visualization therefore shows that an industry or occupation group can contain both living-wage and below-living-wage opportunities. Understanding the size of a sector alone is not enough. Communities must also examine the quality of the jobs within it.
What this visualization shows
This visualization compares the distribution of projected below-living-wage job openings across major occupation groups in Hawaiʻi.
Food Service dominates the picture, accounting for nearly one in three openings below the living-wage threshold. Administrative, Retail and Sales, Transportation, and Cleaning and Maintenance occupations also represent significant shares of projected low-wage opportunity.
The distribution reflects the structure of Hawaiʻi’s economy. Many of the occupation groups expected to generate large numbers of openings are connected to tourism, hospitality, retail, transportation, property operations, and other services that support residents and visitors.
The presence of Healthcare and Education is especially important. These broad occupation groups include jobs with very different wage levels and education requirements. Some roles provide strong wages and career advancement, while others remain below the living-wage threshold despite supporting services that communities depend on every day.
The visualization therefore shows that an industry or occupation group can contain both living-wage and below-living-wage opportunities. Understanding the size of a sector alone is not enough. Communities must also examine the quality of the jobs within it.
Why this matters
Below-living-wage jobs are not peripheral to Hawaiʻi’s economy. They represent a substantial share of projected hiring and are concentrated in work that keeps businesses, public services, and communities functioning.
Food service workers prepare meals, support tourism, and serve local residents. Administrative workers keep organizations operating. Transportation workers move people and goods. Cleaning and maintenance workers sustain workplaces, schools, healthcare facilities, hotels, and public spaces.
Yet many of these jobs do not provide enough income for workers to meet the cost of living in Hawaiʻi.
The concentration of projected openings in these occupation groups means that Hawaiʻi cannot address economic mobility only by helping people leave low-wage work. The state must also consider how to improve job quality, expand advancement pathways, and raise earnings within the parts of the economy that will continue employing large numbers of people.
Healthcare and Education raise an additional concern. If essential occupations within these fields remain below the living-wage threshold, employers may continue to face difficulty recruiting and retaining the workers communities rely upon.
This evidence invites Hawaiʻi to ask:
How can the occupation groups creating the largest number of jobs also create stronger pathways toward economic security?
Evidence:
Questions this visualization helps answer
What share of below-living-wage openings is concentrated in Food Service?
Which occupation groups follow Food Service in projected low-wage job growth?
How much of Hawaiʻi’s future hiring is expected to occur in occupations that do not provide a living wage?
Which essential parts of the workforce contain substantial numbers of below-living-wage jobs?
How concentrated is Hawaiʻi’s below-living-wage employment among service-oriented occupations?
Curiosity:
Questions this visualization raises
What would it take to raise wages or improve job quality in Food Service occupations?
How much of Food Service growth is connected to Hawaiʻi’s tourism economy?
Can tourism-driven job growth support long-term economic mobility if many of its largest occupation groups remain below a living wage?
Which specific Healthcare and Education occupations account for the below-living-wage openings?
Are lower-wage Healthcare and Education roles concentrated in particular counties, employers, or settings?
What career pathways allow workers in these occupation groups to advance into higher-paying positions?
How often do workers move from Food Service, Retail, Administrative, or Cleaning occupations into living-wage careers?
Which employers or industries have successfully improved wages, scheduling, benefits, or advancement opportunities in these roles?
How would higher minimum wages affect the number of jobs classified as below the living-wage threshold?
What public policies or business practices could improve job quality without reducing employment opportunities?
Is the concentration of below-living-wage work in these occupation groups increasing or decreasing over time?
Youth Perspective
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