09-17-2012, 06:39 AM
The best advice is don't come here without a job, unless you have an annuity or trust fund. The unemployment in Oahu is 6.3%, on the BI, it is over 9%, with some estimates it is 7% on Kona side and 11% on Hilo side. There are plenty of guys that live here and they aren't getting jobs just because they live here. There was a lot of employment in construction that collapsed along with the housing market collapse of 2007. Jobs in HMC and schools are billeted but not filled due to state funding shortfalls for several years because of the housing market collapse. There are some recovery signs but they are sluggish. Hilo is a university town and there is stiff competition for any retail work down town. The flip side is there are quite a few entrepreneurs that have come without work and are doing very well. These are in the minority though.
*Japanese tourist on bus through Pahoa, "Is this still America?*