The Workforce Understory is HWFC’s new data sensemaking and dashboarding initiative designed to illuminate the hidden but vital stories shaping Hawaiʻi’s workforce future.

In a forest, the understory is where the future begins — the layer of young growth taking root beneath the canopy. These shoots are often overlooked, but they’re essential. Without the right conditions, a forest cannot regenerate.

Our economy works the same way.

We tend to focus on what’s already grown — total jobs, GDP, unemployment rates. But those numbers don’t tell us whether the next generation is finding a path forward. They don’t show us what’s trying to grow, or what might be struggling just out of view.

That’s where The Workforce Understory comes in.

This initiative surfaces emerging signals — new perspectives, local insights, early data trends — and asks a simple but urgent question:

Are we creating the conditions for opportunity to grow — for everyone, in every place?

Just as forests thrive in different ways depending on their ecosystem, every island, county, and community will need its own path to a thriving future. Through this series, we’ll explore what’s already growing — and what needs more light, care, and investment to take root.