Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 28, Number 11, 1 November 2011 — The outlook on jobs [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

The outlook on jobs

By Stacy Naipo Historically, Native Hawaiians were able to maintain a selfsufficient, agriculturally based eeonomie system. Today, however, generations of Native Hawaiians have yet to gain eeonomie parity with other ethnicities residing in Hawai'i. Research by the U.S. Department of Labor has found that there is a connection between higher education and higher wage earnings. Yet, according to the U.S. Census Bureau, only 9.7 percent of Native Hawaiians obtain a bachelor's degree. In fact, Native Hawaiians are underrepresented in management, professional and related occupations (when educational services, such as teachers or teaching assistants, are excluded) and overrepresented in the construction, service, sales and repair occupations. For example, the U.S. Census Bureau estimates that more than 13,000 Native Hawaiians engage in construction work. While wages ean equal those of someone with a college degree, poor weather and slowdowns in construction activity limit the amount of time laborers ean work and therefore decrease the amount of pay received. More than 28,000 Native Hawaiians work in service occupations. This category includes professions such as: pest-control workers, wait staff and security guards. The Department of Labor describes these jobs as usually part-time or paid by the hour and, if worked at less than 20 hours a week, without heahh insurance. Part-time workers in the service industry may not opt to purchase their own heahh insurance if other expenses are more pressing - for example, rent, food and child care. Furthermore, unlike workers whh employer-sponsored heahh care, these workers face the possibility of receiving no paycheck if they are confronted with long-

term illness or nonwork-related injury. Job trend projections represent one way that organizations ean target funding and resources toward Native Hawaiians seeking education and training for more lucrative occupations. The 2010-2011 Occupational Outlook Handbook projects employment changes by oeeupahon through 2018. Although it is important to remember that job projections may change over time, the handbook is revised every two years and ean be a helpful resource for Native Hawaiians, particularly

for students looking to enter the workforce or those interested in switching careers. The handbook ean be easily accessed at bls. gov/oco. It is recommended that you search the database for a specific oeeupahon. This site also provides information about what kind of degree you will need, if any, how long you will need to go to school and what kind of salary you ean expect to get when you graduate. According to the Occupational Outlook Handbook, heahh care and social assistance industries, as well as the professional, scientific and technical services sector, are areas of the greatest projected growth. About 26 percent of all new jobs created in the U.S. economy by 2018 will be in the health-care industry, whieh includes public and private hospitals, nursing and residentialcare facilities, and individual and family services. Growth will be driven by an aging populahon and longer life expectancies. The technology or computerrelated sector, including software engineers and database administrators are expected to climb 45 percent by 2018. With current median salaries at $75,000 and up, the jobs in the technology sector are very attractive. However, these jobs will require a bachelor's degree and possibly graduate school. For example, the handbook states that most employers prefer their software engineers to have a

minimum of a bachelor's degree, usually in computer science, mathematics or information science and that more complex jobs will require graduate degrees; this is also true for programmers and database administrators. The fast-paced rate of change in the field will also require that technology sector employees keep up-to-date with the latest advances. Ongoing training will be needed in order to advance in this career area. Occupations in the engineering sector are projected to have some of the highest wages

depending on the type of engineer you are. For example, some median wages currently start in the low $60,000s (agricultural engineer) and go as high as $108,020 (petroleum engineer). In particular, the greatest growth in engineering jobs will be in the biomedical and environmental sectors, whieh both currently earn median wages above $70,000. According to a study completed in 2006 by Hawai'i's Departmentof Business, Eeonomie Development and Tourism on technology, technological progress and innovation are

the two greatest engines of eeonomie growth. Native Hawaiians interested in these jobs should keep the acronym STEM in mind. Short for Science, Technology, Engineering and Math, education in the STEM areas will greatly enhanee the ability of Native Hawaiians to attain greater eeonomie selfsufficiency, an OHA Strategic Priority. ■ Stacy Naipo is a Research Analyst for Special Projects in OHA's Research Line ofBusiness.

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Source: University of Hawai'i (201 1). lnstitutionol Research and Analysis Office.