State Economists Forecast Positive Growth into 2014

DBEDT Director Richard C. Lim. Photo courtesy of DBEDT.

By Sonia Isotov

Continued positive economic growth in 2013, outpacing the national growth rate, is projected by state economists, according to the Quarterly Statistical and Economic Report released by the Hawaii Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism last week.

“We continue to see strength in the overall economy – near previous estimates,” said Richard C. Lim, director of the Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism, in a written statement.

“From our perspective, we believe Hawaii is poised for steady positive economic growth.” The report also indicated that growth is expected to be positive in 2014 as well.

“While the current DBEDT forecast is slightly less optimistic than its February 2013 forecast for some of local economic indicators such as gross domestic product (GDP) growth, job growth, and visitor-related indicators, Hawaii’s overall growth rate is higher than what is being experienced nationally,” continued Lim.

“In addition, the projected personal income growth and inflation rate are unchanged from the previous forecast.”

The DBEDT Quarterly Statistical and Economic Report contains more than 100 tables of the most recent quarterly data on Hawaii’s economy as well as narrative explanations of the trends in these data. The full report is available at: http://dbedt.hawaii.gov/economic/data_reports/qser/.