Honolulu, HI
The state of Hawaii has seen both an increase in government contracts and a decrease in construction jobs over the second half of 2022.
We expect this to push costs up in the short term, but the number of new workers in the pipeline should be enough to fill the gap. In Honolulu, the Department of Permitting and Planning has around 8,000 permits waiting for approval. Furthermore, there are still many key projects in the pipeline. The US Navy has earmarked billions of dollars for upgrades to its base at Pearl Harbor. The state government has allocated another $350 million for improvements to the neighborhood around Honolulu’s Aloha Stadium and upgrades to road and rail infrastructure across the state.
Honolulu’s economy is set to benefit from both the return of leisure travel and the global pivot towards Asia. At the center of the Pacific, it is a convenient place for people in Asia to visit the beaches and to do business in the United States without hauling all the way across the Pacific. Thanks to its location in the middle of the Pacific, Honolulu’s isolation has spared it the worst effects of the pandemic, although inflation and supply-chain issues are more pressing concerns there than on the mainland. Still, there are many reasons to be optimistic.
