What share of Hawaiʻi County’s projected job openings between 2022 and 2032 will pay a living wage?
Workforce Understory Episode: Season 1, Episode 1 — The Geography of Opportunity
Geography: Hawaiʻi County
Topic: Living-wage opportunity, projected job growth, and job quality
The takeaway
Hawaiʻi County is projected to generate approximately 41,100 job openings between 2022 and 2032.
Only about 8,600 of those openings are expected to meet or exceed the living-wage threshold, while approximately 32,500 will fall below it.
That means 79% of Hawaiʻi County’s projected job openings will pay below a living wage.
Only about one in five projected job openings on Hawaiʻi Island will provide a living wage.
What this visualization shows
This visualization compares the total number of projected job openings in Hawaiʻi County with the number expected to meet or exceed the county’s living-wage threshold.
Hawaiʻi County is projected to generate a substantial number of openings over the decade. Yet nearly four in five of those opportunities are expected to pay less than what a single adult needs to meet the local cost of living.
The visualization therefore reveals a significant difference between employment growth and economic mobility. Hawaiʻi Island may create enough jobs to sustain hiring across many industries, but the majority of those openings will not provide the wages workers need to achieve long-term financial stability.
This challenge is shaped by the island’s geography as well as its economy. Hawaiʻi County covers a large and predominantly rural area, with employment opportunities distributed unevenly across communities. A job may technically be available within the county while remaining difficult to access because of distance, transportation, housing, scheduling, or limited education and training options.
The central issue is therefore not simply whether Hawaiʻi Island will create jobs.
It is whether residents can access jobs that allow them to build secure lives in the communities they call home.
Why this matters
When most projected openings fall below the living-wage threshold, finding employment does not necessarily resolve the economic pressures facing workers and families.
Residents may need to combine multiple jobs, commute long distances, rely on extended family, delay major life decisions, or leave the island to find stronger career opportunities. Employers may struggle to recruit and retain workers when wages are not aligned with housing, transportation, childcare, food, and other essential expenses.
The challenge may be especially pronounced in a geographically large county where people, employers, educational institutions, and workforce services are spread across multiple population centers. Even when living-wage opportunities exist, they may not be equally accessible to residents in every community.
Hawaiʻi County’s projected job mix also raises questions about where economic development and workforce investments could have the greatest effect. Some industries may offer clear pathways into living-wage work. Others may employ large numbers of people but require changes in wages, job design, productivity, training, or advancement opportunities before they can provide greater economic security.
This evidence invites Hawaiʻi Island to ask:
What share of Hawaiʻi County’s projected job openings between 2022 and 2032 will pay a living wage?
Evidence:
Questions this visualization helps answer
How many total job openings are projected in Hawaiʻi County?
How many of those openings are expected to meet the living-wage threshold?
How large is the gap between projected employment growth and living-wage opportunity?
Does projected job growth on Hawaiʻi Island translate into enough opportunities for economic security?
How does Hawaiʻi County’s balance of living-wage and below-living-wage openings compare with the other counties?
Curiosity:
Questions this visualization raises
Which industries and occupations account for most of Hawaiʻi County’s projected below-living-wage openings?
Which sectors have the greatest potential to shift more jobs above the living-wage threshold?
What investments in training, technology, business development, or job quality would be required to make that shift?
Which occupation groups currently provide the greatest number of living-wage opportunities?
How are living-wage jobs distributed across West Hawaiʻi, East Hawaiʻi, North Hawaiʻi, Kaʻū, and other communities?
How do transportation, housing, childcare, and geographic distance affect residents’ access to the jobs that do pay a living wage?
Which below-living-wage occupations offer credible routes toward advancement?
How can employers create stronger career ladders for incumbent workers?
Are education and training programs aligned with the living-wage opportunities expected to grow?
What role could healthcare, construction, agriculture, renewable energy, technology, or other sectors play in expanding quality employment?
Why do Hawaiʻi County and Kauaʻi have similarly high shares of below-living-wage openings despite having different economies and geographies?
Are the underlying drivers of low-wage job growth similar across the two counties, or do they require different strategies?
Is Hawaiʻi County’s share of living-wage opportunity improving or worsening over time?
Youth Perspective
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