Hawai'i's economic outlook

Two recent articles have optimistic news about Hawai'i's economy.

Takeaways from Hawaii News Now's "UH economists say Hawaii's economy will grow":

• Overall visitor arrivals expected to increase by nearly 3% this year and 3.0% the next
• State's economy expected to expand by 2.6% through rest of the year
• Personal income expected to rise by 2.1% this year and 2.3% the next
• Factors taken into account include the Japanese economy, energy costs, and oil prices

Takeaways from Honolulu Star Advertiser's "Isle economy seen riding out tsunami":

• Same as above, but also:
• Job growth expected to resume, after 3 years of decline
• Carl Bonham, executive director of the University of Hawaii Economic Research Organization, says, "In a nutshell, I think we're going to get through this without falling into recession."

I hope they're right. I guess we are very fortunate that this decrease in Japanese visitor arrivals came now, rather than a year or two ago. The timing of the rail project has also helped in providing more jobs.

Source: Honolulu Star Advertiser