U.S. Census Bureau The Geographic Distribution and Characteristics of Older Workers in Hawaii: 2004 

The Geographic Distribution and 

Characteristics of Older Workers in 

Hawaii: 2004

Local Employment Dynamics

U.S. Department of Commerce

Economics and Statistics Administration

U.S. CENSUS BUREAU

Issued November 2007

LED-OW2007-HI

By

Cynthia Taeuber

and

Matthew R. Graham

Sponsored by the 

National Institute on Aging 

National Institutes of Health

U.S. Department of Health 

 and Human Services

What’s in This Report?

HIGHLIGHTS

THE LOCAL EMPLOYMENT DYNAMICS 

PROGRAM

SOURCES AND ACCURACY OF 

THE ESTIMATES

CHARACTERISTICS AND 

EMPLOYMENT DYNAMICS OF 

OLDER WORKERS

Table 1—Percentage of Workers by Age 

 in Metropolitan Statistical Areas 

 and Nonmetropolitan Area 

 Workplaces in Hawaii: 2004

Figure 1— Hawaii Workforce by Age 

 Group: 1996 to 2004

Figure 2—Percentage of Workers 45 to 

 54 Years Old by County of 

 Workplace in Hawaii: 2004

Figure 3—Percentage of Workers 55 to 

 64 Years Old by County of 

 Workplace in Hawaii: 2004

Figure 4—Percentage of Workers 65 and 

 Older by County of Workplace 

 in Hawaii: 2004

Figure 5—Percentage Change in Number 

 of Workers 55 and Older by 

 County of Workplace in Hawaii: 

 2001 to 2004

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES

HIGHLIGHTS

The statistics about older workers in 

Hawaii in 2004 show this group’s 

proportion of the state’s labor force has 

increased. Changes in the size and composition of age groups may affect government program and policy choices and the 

options available to businesses. National 

projections indicate that the population 

65 and older will increase from about 

1 in 8 people to 1 in 5 people by 2030, 

so that older workers will likely compose 

an increasingly larger proportion of each 

state’s workforce.1 Whether, and in what 

industries, the large wave of workers born 

during the Baby Boom of 1946 to 1964 

are currently working may influence their 

labor force behavior beyond traditional 

retirement ages. That is important information for firms planning for the eventual 

loss of experienced workers and the payout of pensions. In 2004, the Baby Boom 

cohort was aged 40 to 58. 

This report uses data from the Local 

Employment Dynamics (LED) program to 

show the geographic distribution and the 

economic dynamics among private sector workers 55 and older (also including 

some statistics on those aged 45 to 54). It 

includes comparisons among the counties (and county equivalents) and between 

metropolitan and nonmetropolitan areas of 

Hawaii.2

 1 U.S. Census Bureau, 2004, “U.S. Interim Projections 

by Age, Sex, Race, and Hispanic Origin,” <http://www

.census.gov/ipc/www/usinterimproj/natprojtab02a

.xls>.

 2 The metropolitan and nonmetropolitan county 

classifications are based on Census 2000. For definitions of specific metropolitan statistical areas, see 

<http://www.census.gov/population/www/estimates

/metroarea.html>.
 The Geographic Distribution and Characteristics of Older Workers in Hawaii: 2004 U.S. Census Bureau

• Statewide, 15.9 percent of work-

 ers were 55 and older. The per-

 centage of workers 55 and older 

 by county was:3

Industry Sectors With the 

Highest Proportions of Older 

Workers in 20045

• Statewide, among industry sec-

 tors that employed 100 or more 

 workers 55 and older, Agricul-

 ture, Forestry, Fishing, and Hunt-

 ing (NAICS 11) had the highest 

 proportion of workers in this age 

 group. This sector had the high-

 est percentage of workers 55 and 

 older in all four counties as well.

• Industry sectors with more than 

 1 in 5 workers 55 and older that 

 employed at least 100 or more 

 workers from that age group 

 were:

Industries are classified according 

to the North American Industry 

Classification System (NAICS). 

Because the Quarterly Workforce 

Indicators (QWI) are updated every 

3 months, the numbers in this report 

may differ from the most recent 

ones on the current LED Web site, 

<http://lehd.did.census.gov>.

This report defines “older workers” 

as those 55 and older. Information 

is displayed for all workers by age 

groups to facilitate comparisons 

among workers and provide information about the potential characteristics of future older workers. The 

characteristics and geographic distribution throughout Hawaii of three 

groups of older workers are shown: 

those who may be receiving pension 

income but who are working (65 and 

older) and two pre-retirement groups 

of workers (those aged 45 to 54 and 

aged 55 to 64), who may start collecting pensions and social security 

over the next two decades. 

With the LED information, state 

planners can monitor changes in 

the workforce and emerging trends. 

Detailed statistics about workers by 

age in counties and metropolitan 

and nonmetropolitan areas of Hawaii 

are available on the U.S. Census 

Bureau’s Web site, <http://www

.census.gov>.

Following are highlights from the 

detailed statistics.

Age Composition of the 

Workforce

• None of the 4 counties in Hawaii 

 had 20.0 percent or more of the 

 total workforce 55 or older.

• Statewide, 3.6 percent of work-

 ers were 65 and older. The per-

 centage of workers 65 and older 

 by county was:4

 3 Counties with low employment (fewer than 

100 employees) in the 55-and-older age group 

are not included in this list.

 4 Counties with low employment (fewer than 

100 employees) in the 65-and-older age group 

are not included in this list.

• In metropolitan statistical areas 

 of the state, the industry sector 

 that employed the largest per-

 centage of workers 55 and older 

 was Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing, 

 and Hunting (NAICS 11), with 

 32.7 percent; the industry sector 

 with the highest proportion of 

 workers 65 and older was also 

 Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing, and 

 Hunting (NAICS 11), with 11.1 

 percent.

• In nonmetropolitan area work-

 places in Hawaii, the industry 

 sector that employed the largest 

 percentage of workers 55 and 

 older was Agriculture, Forestry, 

 Fishing, and Hunting (NAICS 11), 

 with 29.7 percent. Agriculture, 

 Forestry, Fishing, and Hunting 

County Percentage

of workforce

Hawaii . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16.4

Honolulu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16.0

Kauai . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15.8

Maui . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14.6

Note: Due to rounding, the data in this table

may differ from the data used for the statement

in the first bullet.

County Percentage

of workforce

Hawaii . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3.9

Honolulu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3.6

Kauai . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3.6

Maui . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3.1

Industry Percentage

of workforce

Agriculture, forestry, fishing,

and hunting. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30.8

Other services (except public

administration) . . . . . . . . . . . . 23.0

Educational services . . . . . . . . 22.2

Real estate and rental and

leasing. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21.0

• Of the 4 counties in Hawaii, all 4 Manufacturing. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20.0

 counties experienced an increase 

 from 2001 to 2004 in the per-

 centage of the county workforce 

 that was 55 and older. The larg-

 est increase was in Hawaii 

 County.

• Of the total workforce employed 

 in metropolitan statistical areas, 

 about 16.0 percent was 55 and 

 older; in nonmetropolitan area 

 workplaces, the proportion was 

 15.5 percent.

 5 Sectors are groups of industries. For more 

information, see <http://www.census.gov

/epcd/www/naicsect.htm>.
U.S. Census Bureau The Geographic Distribution and Characteristics of Older Workers in Hawaii: 2004 

 (NAICS 11) was also the industry 

 sector with the highest propor-

 tion of workers 65 and older, 

 with 10.0 percent.

Industry Sectors Most Likely to 

Employ Older Workers in 2004

• Of all the workers in the state 

 55 and older, 15.1 percent were 

 employed in Accommodation and 

 Food Services (NAICS 72), the 

 highest proportion for that age 

 group of any industry sector in 

 the state. This industry was 

 ranked number one in 3 of 4 

 counties.

• Of all the workers in the state 

 55 and older in metropolitan 

 statistical areas, 13.0 percent 

 were employed in Accommoda-

 tion and Food Services (NAICS 

 72), the highest proportion for 

 that age group statewide among 

 industrial sectors.

• Of all the workers in the state 

 55 and older in nonmetropolitan 

 area workplaces, 21.0 percent 

 were employed in Accommoda-

 tion and Food Services (NAICS 

 72), the highest proportion for 

 that age group statewide among 

 industrial sectors.

Quarterly Job Gains and Losses 

in 2004

• On average, for workers 55 to 64 

 years old, 2,574 jobs were cre-

 ated quarterly and 2,981 jobs 

 were lost quarterly. For workers 

 65 and older, the numbers were 

 841 and 1,220, respectively.

• The county with the largest share 

 of job gains for workers 55 to 

 64 years old was Honolulu 

 County, with 68.2 percent. The 

 largest share of job losses for 

 such workers was also in 

 Honolulu County, with 69.1

 percent.

• The county with the largest 

 share of job gains for workers 

 65 and older was Honolulu 

 County, with 66.7 percent. The 

 largest share of job losses for 

 such workers was also in 

 Honolulu County, with 70.1 

 percent.

• The industry sector with the 

 largest gain in jobs for workers 

 55 to 64 years old was 

 Accommodation and Food 

 Services (NAICS 72), with an 

 average of 352 jobs gained per 

 quarter at the state level. The 

 most jobs lost by that age group 

 were also in Accommodation and 

 Food Services (NAICS 72), with 

 an average of 432 jobs lost per 

 quarter at the state level.

• The industry sector with the 

 largest gain in jobs for workers 

 65 and older was Administrative 

 and Support and Waste Manage-

 ment and Remediation Services 

 (NAICS 56), with 120 jobs gained 

 per quarter at the state level. 

 The most jobs lost by that age

 group were in Accommodation 

 and Food Services (NAICS 72), 

 with 193 jobs lost per quarter at 

 the state level.

Average Earnings of Older 

Workers in 2004

• Statewide, on average, work-

 ers 55 and older earned $3,307 

 a month.

• Of industry sectors employing at 

 least 100 workers 55 and older, 

 the highest paying was Utilities 

 (NAICS 22). Workers in that sec-

 tor earned, on average, $7,433 

 a month. The lowest paying was 

 Arts, Entertainment, and Recre-

 ation (NAICS 71). Workers in this 

 sector earned, on average, 

 $2,014 a month. The follow-

 ing table shows statewide 

 average monthly earnings in 

 2004 for full-quarter, private-

 sector wage and salary workers 

 55 and older by NAICS sector.

Industry Earnings

(dollars)

Utilities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7,433

Finance and insurance . . . . . . . . 6,081

Management of companies and

enterprises . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5,986

Professional, scientific, and

technical services . . . . . . . . . . . 5,551

Construction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5,364

Information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4,306

Wholesale trade . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4,055

Health care and social

assistance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3,727

Real estate and rental and

leasing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3,532

Transportation and

warehousing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3,448

Educational services . . . . . . . . . . 3,284

Manufacturing. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2,836

Retail trade . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2,631

Accommodation and food

services . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2,315

Administrative and support and

waste management and

remediation services . . . . . . . . . 2,259

Other services (except public

administration) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2,248

Agriculture, forestry, fishing,

and hunting. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2,161

Arts, entertainment, and

recreation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2,014

Industry Percentage

of workers

Agriculture, forestry, fishing,

and hunting. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32.7

Other services (except public

administration) . . . . . . . . . . . . 23.2

Mining . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22.7

Educational services . . . . . . . 22.7

Real estate and rental and

leasing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21.9

Older Workers in Metropolitan 

Statistical Areas and in Nonmetropolitan Area Workplaces 

in 2004

• In metropolitan statistical areas, 

 the five industry sectors with the 

 largest percentage of workers 

 55 and older were:
 The Geographic Distribution and Characteristics of Older Workers in Hawaii: 2004 U.S. Census Bureau

• In nonmetropolitan area work-

 places, the five industry sectors 

 with the largest percentage of 

 workers 55 and older were:

QWI for partner states and 

detailed information about the 

LED program are available 

without cost at 

<http://lehd.did.census.gov>.

• In metropolitan statistical areas, 

 of industry sectors employing at 

 least 100 workers 55 and older, 

 the highest paying for workers 

 55 and older was Utilities (NAICS 

 22), which paid, on average, 

 $8,383 a month. The lowest pay-

 ing was Agriculture, Forestry, 

 Fishing, and Hunting (NAICS 11), 

 which paid, on average, 

 $1,828 a month.

• In nonmetropolitan area work-

 places, of industry sectors 

 employing at least 100 workers 

 55 and older, the highest pay-

 ing for workers 55 and older 

 was Finance and Insurance 

 (NAICS 52), which paid, on aver-

 age, $6,488 a month. The lowest 

 paying was Other Services 

 (except Public Administration) 

 (NAICS 81), which paid, 

 on average, $2,092 a month.

THE LOCAL EMPLOYMENT 

DYNAMICS PROGRAM

The LED Program is a partnership 

between the Census Bureau and the 

participating states. LED produces 

QWI for each partner state, as well 

as each partner state’s metropolitan 

areas, combined nonmetropolitan 

areas, counties, and Workforce 

Investment Board areas. 

Quarterly and annual averages are 

available at <http://lehd.did.census

.gov>.6

workers and a tool to monitor economic change.7 The statistics are 

comparable across time, making it 

possible to identify emerging workforce trends and turning points and 

to compare geographic areas and 

demographic groups working in 

specific industries. Industries are 

classified according to the NAICS.

The QWI come from a mixture of 

data sources, the base of which is 

a census of jobs. The LED database 

includes all jobs a worker holds 

and allows multiple definitions of 

“employment” in order to respond 

to a wide variety of questions about 

the workforce (see “Sources and 

Accuracy of the Estimates” in the 

following section). The definition of 

“employment” in this report, unless 

stated otherwise, is “beginning of 

quarter” employment—that is, the 

total number of workers who were 

employed by the same employer in 

the reference quarter and the 

previous quarter. 

As job-based statistics, the QWI 

are not directly comparable with 

statistics from worker-based surveys such as the decennial and 

economic censuses, the American 

Community Survey, or the Current 

Population Survey.8 Neither are the 

QWI exactly comparable with data 

from establishment surveys, such 

as those from the U.S. Bureau of 

Labor Statistics’ Quarterly Census 

of Employment and Wages (QCEW) 

program, which capture employment data at establishments on the 

12th of the month. 

 6 For more complete information on QWI, 

see Abowd, John M., Bryce E. Stephens, Lars 

Vilhuber, Fredrik Andersson, Kevin L. McKinney, 

Marc Roemer, and Simon Woodcock, 2005. 

The LEHD Infrastructure Files and the Creation 

of the Quarterly Workforce Indicators. LEHD 

Technical Paper, TP-2006-01. U.S. Census 

Bureau, Washington, DC. Available at 

<http://lehd.did.census.gov/led/library

/techpapers/tp-2006-01.pdf>.

 7 Because the QWI are updated quarterly, the 

numbers in this report may differ from the 

most recent ones, which are shown on the current LED Web site. For the latest list of partner 

states, see <http://lehd.did.census.gov/led

/led/statepartners.html>. Additional states are 

in the process of joining.

 8 Information about the decennial census is 

available at <http://www.census.gov/main

/www/cen2000.html>. American Community 

Survey information is available at <http://

www.census.gov/acs/www>. Information 

about economic censuses is available at 

<http://www.census.gov/epcd/www

/econ2002.html>.

Industry Percentage

of workers

Agriculture, forestry, fishing,

and hunting. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29.7

Mining . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22.9

Other services (except public

administration) . . . . . . . . . . . . 22.2

Manufacturing. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22.0

Educational services . . . . . . . . 19.8

Overview

The QWI are measures of economic 

characteristics and change selected 

jointly by the Census Bureau and its 

partner states. Each component of 

the QWI provides a critical measure 

of an area’s economy and can be 

used as a tool to better understand 

changes in the core performance of 

local economies. 

Listed in this report are figures and 

data tables that show selected QWI 

statistics on older workers. Comprehensive summary data that cover 

geographic areas and include age 

and gender composition by industry, total employment, net job flows, 

job gains and job losses, separations, new hires, skill level (quarters of employment), and average 

monthly earnings are available at 

<http://lehd.did.census.gov>.

Nine months after a quarter ends, 

the Census Bureau and its partners 

update the workforce indicators for 

that quarter. This provides current 

and historical information about 

the characteristics of America’s 
U.S. Census Bureau The Geographic Distribution and Characteristics of Older Workers in Hawaii: 2004 

Throughout this report, “earnings” 

refer only to the earnings of workers who were employed for a full 

quarter—that is, those who were 

employed by the same employer 

in the reference, previous, and 

subsequent quarters. This earnings measure reflects the earnings 

of “attached” employees, generally 

workers who worked for the same 

employer for the whole quarter. 

The measures of earnings from the 

QWI are not directly comparable 

with measures of earnings from 

the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

SOURCES AND ACCURACY 

OF THE ESTIMATES

Because the QWI are job-based 

statistics, not the worker-based 

statistics familiar to many 

researchers, the LED database 

allows multiple definitions of 

“employment” and can respond to 

a wide variety of questions about 

the workforce.9 

Sources

Enhanced unemployment insurance (UI) wage records and the 

QCEW are the basic data sources 

for the QWI. These are administrative data provided to the Census 

Bureau by partner states. The QWI’s 

coverage, timing of data collection, 

and concept definitions differ from 

those in worker-based surveys, 

such as the decennial and economic censuses, the American 

Community Survey, and the Current Population Survey. Also, QWI 

data are not exactly comparable 

with Bureau of Labor Statistics 

information, due to timing differences.

Administrative data from these 

sources almost certainly contain 

nonsampling errors. The extent of

the nonsampling errors is unknown. 

Sources of nonsampling errors 

include errors made in data collection, such as recording and coding 

errors, errors made in processing 

the data, errors made in estimating 

values for missing data, and errors 

from failing to represent all units 

within a target population (undercoverage).

The LED program undertakes a 

process of continuous monitoring 

to attempt to control the nonsampling errors in the integrated data 

that underlie the LED database. In 

particular, identifiers on both the UI 

wage records and the QCEW records 

are subjected to longitudinal editing every quarter. A set of quality 

assurance tests is applied to the 

integrated data. These tests detect 

problems known to cause nonsampling errors—primarily, tests for 

missing records of various types 

(based on estimates of the number 

of expected records from alternative 

sources), tests for incomplete wage 

or earnings information, and tests 

for changes in the structure of identifiers or entities. Problems detected 

by these quality assurance tests are 

investigated and corrected before 

data integration and production of 

the QWI are allowed to continue.10

Industries are based upon the 

NAICS. 

Coverage

This report covers civilian noninstitutionalized workers in the private 

sector only. While this report does 

not include federal government 

workers, the complete QWI database 

does include most state and local 

government employees. The QWI 

database covers about 98 percent 

of nonagricultural, private wage, 

salaried employment.

 9 For the QWI, a “job” is defined as an 

employer-employee pair among administrative datasets.

 10 Technical documentation is available at

<http://lehd.did.census.gov>. 

The remaining 2 percent of the nonagricultural, private wage, salaried 

workers are railroad workers and 

workers for some nonprofit organizations. Self-employed workers and 

independent contractors are not in 

the covered universe.11 

Definitions

The LED database includes all jobs 

held:

 

• In a quarter, regardless of the 

 length of time the job is held.

• At the beginning of a quarter—

 the measure used in this report 

 (workers employed by the same 

 employer in the previous and 

 current quarters).

• At the end of a quarter.

• For a full quarter (total number of 

 workers who were employed by 

 the same employer in the current, 

 previous, and subsequent quar-

 ters). This measure is used in this 

 report for average earnings 

 because it reflects the earnings 

 of employees in more stable jobs.

The measure that is closest to the 

QCEW definition of employment is 

the second one, jobs held at the 

beginning of a quarter. This second 

measure has the additional advantage of capturing trends similar to 

those shown by worker-based 

surveys, such as the decennial 

census.

Annual figures are simple averages 

with each quarter weighted equally. 

There is no differential weighting of 

averages for seasonal industries, for 

example.

11 U.S. Census Bureau, David W. Stevens. 

Employment That Is Not Covered by State 

Unemployment. LEHD Technical Paper, 

TP-2002-16. U.S. Census Bureau, Washington, 

DC. Available at <http://lehd.did.census

.gov/led/library/techpapers/tp-2002-16.pdf>.
 The Geographic Distribution and Characteristics of Older Workers in Hawaii: 2004 U.S. Census Bureau

Earnings are measured differently 

among the various datasets. According to the BLS Handbook of Methods 

(1997), UI wage records measure 

“gross wages and salaries, bonuses, 

stock options, tips, and other 

gratuities, and the value of meals 

and lodging, where supplied.” They 

do not include amounts paid for 

Old-Age, Survivors, and Disability 

Insurance (OASDI), health insurance, 

workers’ compensation, unemployment insurance, private pensions, 

and welfare funds. The LED database does not include the number 

of hours or weeks an employee 

worked. Thus, low average earnings in a given year or quarter in an 

industry sector may reflect relatively 

low hourly wages, or many parttime jobs, or both, as often occurs 

in the retail trade sector. 

Some large companies have multiple work sites but may report all 

their workers at the company’s main 

address. This creates a problem for 

the correct geographic distribution 

of the workers. LED uses an imputation process to allocate workers to 

geographic areas in order to maintain appropriate distributions within 

the QWI dataset.

Confidentiality of information 

about individuals and firms is 

protected.

The Census Bureau and the state 

partners are committed to protecting the confidentiality of the data 

used to create the LED estimates. 

One technical approach used to conceal individual information involves 

combining cell suppression methodology and statistical noise, thereby 

controlling key measures to county 

employment levels, as reported 

by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. 

In other words, the Census Bureau 

uses statistical techniques in which 

the actual statistics are not shown 

if the numbers in a cell are small. 

In addition, the statistics that are 

shown are “fuzzy,” meaning close 

to the actual information but not 

exact.

Only Census Bureau employees and 

individuals who have Special Sworn 

Status are permitted to work with 

the input data. Everyone who has 

access to data protected by Title 13

of the U.S. Code must have an official security clearance based on a 

background check, including fingerprinting.12 

Additionally, these individuals are 

subject to a fine of up to $250,000, 

up to 5 years in prison, or both, if 

confidential information is disclosed. The Census Bureau and the 

state data custodians review all 

products before release to avoid disclosure of confidential information. 

More detailed information about the 

confidentiality protection system is 

available under the “Confidentiality” 

menu at <http://lehd.did.census

.gov>.

 12 The Census Bureau’s Data Protection and 

Privacy Policy, including information on 

Title 13, is available at <http://www.census

.gov/privacy>.
U.S. Census Bureau The Geographic Distribution and Characteristics of Older Workers in Hawaii: 2004 

Figure 1.

Hawaii Workforce by Age Group: 1996 to 2004

Note: Universe is all jobs identified by the LED program.

Source: U.S. Census Bureau and the state of Hawaii, Local Employment Dynamics 

program, 2004. See <http://lehd.did.census.gov>.

Percent of beginning-of-quarter employment

65+

14–44

45–54

55–64 

1996 1997 1998 1999

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

100

Q12 3 4 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4

2000 2001 2002 2003 2004

Beginning-of-quarter 

employment

Total number of workers 

employed by the same 

employer in the reference

and previous quarters.

Table 1.

Percentage of Workers by Age in Metropolitan Statistical Areas and Nonmetropolitan

Area Workplaces in Hawaii: 2004

Area of workplace 45 to 54 years 55 to 64 years 55 to 99 years 65 to 99 years

Hawaii . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22.3 12.3 15.9 3.6

Honolulu, HI . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22.0 12.4 16.0 3.6

All metropolitan areas. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22.0 12.4 16.0 3.6

All nonmetropolitan area workplaces. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23.1 12.0 15.5 3.5

Note: Discrepancies may occur due to rounding.

Source: U.S. Census Bureau and the state of Hawaii, Local Employment Dynamics program, 2004. See <http://lehd.did.census.gov>.

Characteristics and Employment Dynamics of Older Workers
 The Geographic Distribution and Characteristics of Older Workers in Hawaii: 2004 U.S. Census Bureau HAWAII 23.6%

MAUI 

22.4%

KAUAI 

23.9%

HONOLULU 

22.0%

Spatial Data Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Census 2000.Statistical Data Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Longitudinal Employer-Household Dynamics Program, 2006.

0 20 40 60 80 100 Kilometers 0 20 40 60 80 100 Miles 

Note: All boundaries and names are as of January 1, 2000. Figures for Kalawao County have been suppressed due tothe county’s small size and to ensure confidentiality at the request of the state of Hawaii.

Figure 2.Percentage of Workers 45 to 54 Years Old by County of Workplace in Hawaii: 2004
U.S. Census Bureau The Geographic Distribution and Characteristics of Older Workers in Hawaii: 2004  HAWAII 12.5%

MAUI 

11.5%

KAUAI 

12.3%

HONOLULU 

12.4%

Spatial Data Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Census 2000.Statistical Data Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Longitudinal Employer-Household Dynamics Program, 2006.

0 20 40 60 80 100 Kilometers 0 20 40 60 80 100 Miles 

Note: All boundaries and names are as of January 1, 2000. Figures for Kalawao County have been suppressed due tothe county’s small size and to ensure confidentiality at the request of the state of Hawaii.

Figure 3.Percentage of Workers 55 to 64 Years Old by County of Workplace in Hawaii: 2004
10 The Geographic Distribution and Characteristics of Older Workers in Hawaii: 2004 U.S. Census Bureau HAWAII 3.9%

MAUI 

3.1% 

KAUAI 

3.6%

HONOLULU 

3.6%

Spatial Data Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Census 2000.Statistical Data Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Longitudinal Employer-Household Dynamics Program, 2006.

0 20 40 60 80 100 Kilometers 0 20 40 60 80 100 Miles 

Note: All boundaries and names are as of January 1, 2000. Figures for Kalawao County have been suppressed due tothe county’s small size and to ensure confidentiality at the request of the state of Hawaii.

Figure 4.Percentage of Workers 65 and Older by County of Workplace in Hawaii: 2004
U.S. Census Bureau The Geographic Distribution and Characteristics of Older Workers in Hawaii: 2004 11 HAWAII 32.1%

MAUI 

27.3%

KAUAI 

27.1%

HONOLULU 

15.7%

Spatial Data Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Census 2000.Statistical Data Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Longitudinal Employer-Household Dynamics Program, 2006.

0 20 40 60 80 100 Kilometers 0 20 40 60 80 100 Miles 

Note: All boundaries and names are as of January 1, 2000. Figures for Kalawao County have been suppressed due tothe county’s small size and to ensure confidentiality at the request of the state of Hawaii.

Figure 5.Percentage Change in Number of Workers 55 and Older by County of Workplace in Hawaii: 2001 to 2004 
12 The Geographic Distribution and Characteristics of Older Workers in Hawaii: 2004 U.S. Census Bureau

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES

Other data tables with information 

about older workers are available 

for download from the LED Web site 

in a comma-separated value (.csv) 

format. Brief descriptions of the 

available tables are given below. 

See <http://lehd.did.census.gov> 

for additional details.

Characteristics and 

Employment Dynamics 

of Older Workers

Age composition

A series of tables shows absolute 

and relative shares of older workers 

disaggregated into four standard 

age ranges. The county aggregation level and metropolitan statistical area and nonmetropolitan area 

workplace aggregation levels are 

presented for 2004.

Industry sectors with a high 

proportion of older workers

Two tables contain data on the top 

five industry sectors for older workers in 2004 at the county aggregation level and at the metropolitan 

statistical area and nonmetropolitan 

area workplace aggregation levels.

Most likely industry sectors of 

employment for older workers

A table contains the top five industry sectors most likely to employ 

workers 55 and older. The aggregation level is the county of workplace 

for 2004.

Job gains and losses

A series of tables displays gains, 

losses, and net changes in jobs 

for older workers disaggregated 

into four standard age ranges. The 

aggregation level is the workplace 

county for 2004.

Average monthly earnings of 

older workers

A series of tables displays average 

monthly earnings for workers 55 

and older across industry sectors 

and aggregated at the county and 

metropolitan statistical area and 

nonmetropolitan area workplace 

levels. An additional table presents 

earnings across the four standard 

age ranges. 

Appendix tables

These tables contain all remaining 

datasets—aggregated by county 

and metropolitan statistical area 

and nonmetropolitan area workplace levels and organized by 

industry and age. Notable data 

include: employment totals for 2001 

to 2004, quarterly job loss/gain 

composition for 2004, and average 

monthly earnings and employment 

by Workforce Investment Areas.

Acknowledgments

Research for and production of 

this report was supported under 

an interagency agreement with the 

Behavioral and Social Research Program, National Institute on Aging, 

Agreement No. Y1-AG-9415-07, and 

under Grant No. R01-AG018854.

Thanks to Heath Hayward for 

production of the state maps. 

Also, thanks to Corinne Prost and 

Matthew Armstrong for assistance 

in the statistical anaylsis.

More Information

This report is one of a series of 

reports on older workers in states 

in the LED partnership. Additional 

tables of data and other detailed 

information can be found at the LED 

Web site, <http://lehd.did.census

.gov>. Other data tools and 

applications, such as QWI Online 

and OnTheMap, based upon LED 

partnership data, can also be found 

on the LED Web site.

Suggested Citation

Taeuber, Cynthia and Matthew R. 

Graham, 2007. The Geographic 

Distribution and Characteristics of 

Older Workers in Hawaii: 2004. 

LED Older Workers Profile, 

LED-OW2007-HI. U.S. Census 

Bureau, Washington, DC.