Agriculture

Agriculture generates $2.9 billion dollars to the state's economy and provides 42,000 direct and indirect jobs. Exports have gained in recognition in the last few years and many have become delicacies especially to Canada and Japan. Hawaii has had a long history of agriculture starting with the Polynesians coming and starting small farms that grew everything from sweet potato to rice and fishponds existed along the coasts. With the plantation period, came large farms primarily focusing on the sugar and pineapple industries, but now with the decline in the sugar industry small farms with diverse crops are being seen across the landscape, including those that cater to growing coffee, macadamia nuts, fruits and vegetables as well as flowers.

Alternative Energy

Several alternative energy companies have set up shop in Hawaii, all looking for ways to develop alternative power-generating sources such as geothermal, solar, oceanic, wind, and hydrogen power making energy more efficient and environmentally friendly. The main goal is not only to provide alternative energy sources to the country but to also achieve island energy sustainability. Since Hawaii is so isolated it is one of the biggest per-capita importers of fuel oil products and is looking for ways to decrease this dependence. Hawaii's Clean Energy Initiative is to supply 70 percent or more of Hawaii's energy needs with alternative energy by 2030.

Film

Due to Hawaii's diverse climate zones, it is becoming an ideal location for filming television and film productions. Over 70 feature films and 700 hours of television have been filmed on the islands including two of the American Film Institute's 100 Greatest films of all Time: From Here to Eternity and Raiders of the Lost Ark. From 1997-2000, Honolulu film industry expenditures have grown 79% and during 2000, Oahu's film and television sector revenues reached $97 million. According to the Hawaii film offices, the television and film industry has the potential to grow to a $300 million dollar a year industry. This combined with tourism, which is Hawaii's No. 1 industry, makes Hawaii a popular destination for tourists and visitors alike.

Hawaii also offers an experienced cadre of film production technicians, performers and the services of DBEDT's Hawaii Film Office and the county film offices to facilitate production in the Islands. Also at the filmmaker's disposal is the Hawaii Film Studio, the only state-owned and operated film studio in the country. The complex, located in the shadow of Diamond Head, includes sound and shooting stages, a filming tank and production cottages .

Health Services

Health services provide 12.9 million jobs nationally – 12.5 million jobs for wage and salary workers and about 382,000 jobs for the self-employed. Ten out of 20 occupations projected to grow the fastest are concentrated in health services. About 16 percent of all new wage and salary jobs created between 2002 and 2012 will be in health services – 3.5 million jobs, which is more than in any other industry.

Hawaii's healthcare industry has over 16,700 highly skilled primary and specialized physicians, nurses and medical technicians offering the complete spectrum of medical treatments available in the world today. Hawaii's 40 nationally accredited healthcare facilities treat 100,700 in-patients each year. More than 2 million out-patient visits occur annually at healthcare and medical clinics. Each year, 1,500 open-heart surgeries are performed by Hawaii physicians and hospitals. And yearly over 10,600 are treated successfully for cancer with the most advanced high tech methods available. Hawaii is also home to the trauma and burn center for the Pacific Rim and offers specialized heart, cancer and chronic disease programs for children. All islands are linked with air ambulance services.

Higher Education

Hawaii's future may well rest on higher education. With an annual cash flow of close to $1 billion, Hawaii employs nearly 6,000 people. The University of Hawaii is among the largest institutions on the islands—both as an employer and as a provider of services. But, more important, the services provided represent an investment in the future—most of Hawaii's future employees, entrepreneurs, professionals, and legislators will gain their higher education through the University of Hawaii system campuses.

For all of Hawaii's citizens, education becomes the medium and condition for social mobility. In the information economy, it is clear that smart work is as important as hard work. Higher education is no longer restricted to students in their teens and twenties. The pattern of a single career preceded by a single education is giving way to multiple careers interrupted by periods of educational renewal. The university is becoming a place where people reorient lives.

Leasehold Improvements

Increasingly, the ability for various industry sectors to operate in major metropolitan zones depends on stable economic development in its central areas. Corporate real estate in Hawaii presently faces a number of increasing important issues, including challenges in retaining existing corporate tenants as well as attracting new ones, presenting viable office spaces to smaller businesses, and accommodating the facility needs of businesses in an increasingly technology based world.

Additionally, investor losses from the recent subprime residential loan meltdown have hurt the commercial real estate market by making financing more difficult and expensive. However Hawaii's commercial real estate market is expected to fare better than the national average in 2008.

Manufacturing and Trade

Manufacturing and trade have been the driving force of the U.S. economy historically. Export-supported jobs linked to manufacturing account for an estimated .8 percent of Hawaii's total private sector employment and approximately 2.2 percent of all manufacturing workers in Hawaii depend on exports for their jobs. From 2003 to 2007 export shipments of merchandise increased 52 percent, with Japan being the largest market followed by Singapore, South Korea, Australia and China. The state's leading export in 2007 was petroleum and coal products, then transportation equipment, beverage and tobacco products and then computers and electronic products.

Much of the manufacturing that takes place in Hawaii is heavy manufacturing using raw materials imported from the mainland including an oil refinery that produces a variety of petroleum products and chemical compounds. In addition to heavy manufacturing, there are also garment manufacturers producing printed fabrics and apparel marketed locally, nationally, and abroad. There are also a variety of foodstuffs that are manufactured in the Hawaii and exported.

Technology

The past thirty years have seen tremendous developments in the technology industry, with both funds and energies devoted to building high-tech infrastructures and defining resources for diverse high-tech companies, both large and small. A wide range of technology industries such as biotechnology, environmental technology, information technology, advanced manufacturing, advanced materials, and agribusiness have important and far-reaching implications for employment, education, and a number of additional fields.

Tourism

Tourism is Hawaii's No. 1 industry. It drives the state's economy and accounts for more than one-quarter of all spending. Tourism is also a major economic driver for the United States. It supports 7.5 million jobs, $177 billion in payroll and contributes nearly $100 billion in taxes. It's the first, second or third largest industry in many cities. Since 9/11, international tourism has increased in other parts of the world by some 20 percent, yet decreased in the US by some 17 percent. US tourism has not recovered fully from 9/11 and other international shocks; indeed, recovery may be a long way off. By contrast, Hawaii tourism is enjoying robust growth in the aftermath of 9/11 as growth in tourist arrivals from the mainland has offset declines in international visitors.

Transportation

Industry case studies have long demonstrated the relationship between transportation and the economy, and this is becoming increasingly clear as trade and service industries become more and more dependent on reliable and efficient transportation networks.

Hawaii's geographic isolation presents major transportation challenges for the State. These challenges are especially significant as Hawaii's residents and visitors are heavily dependent on all modes of transport services - air, sea and land - for getting to and from Hawaii as well as between and within islands. Currently, the primary transportation modes used by visitors are air carriers, cruise ships, ferries, public transportation vehicles, private buses, rental cars and taxis. A new ferry system may add to the existing systems and provide another viable alternative for future inter-island travel.