Sources & References
Metro Job Market Pulse · HI NONMETROPOLITAN AREA · October 2026
Every advertised-pay, job-posting and industry figure in this briefing comes from WageScape's own database of active job postings. The sources below back the external facts cited in the written analysis.
Sources cited in this report
Key Indicators
Hawaii GDP growth projected at 1.3% for 2026, down from 2.5% in 2025
Hawaii DBEDT — State economic growth projections
This Month's Takeaways
Construction payrolls up 3.3% while building permit values fell 34%
Hawaii DBEDT — Outlook for the Economy report, 2026
Local Economic Conditions
Hawaii's September unemployment rate was 2.5%, down from 2.7% in August
Hawaii Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism — Statewide seasonally adjusted unemployment data
Hawaii County average weekly wage of $1,190, lowest among state counties
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics — County Employment and Wages, Q1 2026
Open Threads in the Data
Federal government employment in Hawaii declined 8.7% year-over-year
Hawaii DBEDT — County Economic Conditions Report, Q1 2026
Looking Ahead
Hawaii labor force reached highest level since December 2019
Hawaii Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism — Labor force participation data, August 2026
How the numbers are calculated
- Advertised pay is the median of the pay ranges employers publish in active job postings in this metro. It is not survey or payroll data.
- Percent changes compare the latest six full months with the six months before that, for the same metro and sector.
- Sectors group postings by the employer's industry (NAICS) classification into ten sectors. Where a metro has too few postings in a sector, the state figure is used instead.
- Role pay trends use the same comparison windows. "Stable" means a change of less than 3%; "moderate" 3–10%; "significant" more than 10%.
Official data for comparison