Employment declined 0.7 percent in Hawaii’s only large county, Honolulu, from December 2024 to December 2025, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Chris Rosenlund noted that the rate of employment change in Honolulu ranked 275^th among the 366 largest U.S. counties with published data. (See table 1.)

Employment in Honolulu stood at 458,100 in December 2025, accounting for 70.5 percent of total employment in Hawaii. Nationwide, the 372 largest counties comprise 73.4 percent of total covered employment in the United States. (Large counties and county equivalents are those with annual average employment levels of 75,000 or more in 2024.)

The average weekly wage in Honolulu increased 4.6 percent over the year to $1,461. The national average was $1,569, up 4.2 percent over the year. Honolulu’s weekly wage ranked 140^th nationally, and the percent change ranked 120^th among the largest U.S. counties.

Employment and wage levels (but not over-the-year changes) are also available for the three small counties in Hawaii, defined as having employment below 75,000 in 2024. (See table 2.) Wage levels for all three smaller counties were below the national average. Maui + Kalawao reported the highest average weekly wage ($1,281), followed by Kauai ($1,242). Hawaii reported the lowest average weekly wage ($1,228) in the state. (See map 1 and table 2.)

QCEW data for states have been included in this release in table 3.

Nationwide coverage of the largest counties is published in the County Employment and Wages news release. Additional information about quarterly employment and wages data is available in the news release Technical Note and from the Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages website.

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The County Employment and Wages release for the first quarter 2026 is scheduled to be released on Friday, August 28, 2026.