Will There Be Enough Workers For Hawaii's Hot Economy?

When Whole Foods opened its 72,000-square foot, two-story food emporium in Kakaako last week, it brought its typical array of organic apples, artisanal cheeses and and quinoa sold in bulk. There are two restaurant spaces with two dozen beers on tap.

And, perhaps most important for the local economy, the new store brought 300 new jobs. And it needs help.

After the store’s opening last Wednesday, the Amazon subsidiary still had more than a dozen jobs postings at the new store, including jobs for a maintenance worker, dishwasher and cook as well as a store support supervisor.

It’s a sign of the times in Hawaii, especially in the food service and hotel industries.

With the state unemployment rate at about 2.1 percent “virtually everyone who wants a job has one,” the University of Hawaii Economic Research Organization reported earlier this month in its economic forecast. “Businesses are having difficulty finding workers with—or even without—the skills they need,” UHERO said.

Read more: http://www.civilbeat.org/2018/05/will-there-be-enough-workers-for-hawaiis-hot-economy/