That is absolutely so.
Plus mom, dad, and the 17 year old kid all work too to make ends meet.
The type of work though matters as well.
People who are hooting and hollering about 'the rate'...thats only a general indicator, expecially in hawaii.
19 hours a week at Subway sandwich and 19 hours bagging groceries...
Thats about how it works.
Those jobs are easy and leave for lots of beach time. If the boss becomes a scrooge, then see ya later.
My understanding is the mortgage business has been doing quite well though...
But who is doing the buying?
The theme here on Kauai is "work to surf (or fish, dive, etc.)". Thanks to escalating housing costs, no one can afford to move to Hawaii to work.
With such a low unemployment rate, it is impossible to find qualified workers, or so I hear from local building contractors. Out the last 2 guys one contractor hired, one was on drugs and living in his truck and the other was mentally unbalanced, thinking he was descended from Hawaiian royalty and owned thousands of acres of land.