Top 10 Hot Jobs in Pearl City, Fastest Growing City in Hawaii - Military Expansion and 22,000% Jobs Increase

83

By Patty Inglish, MS

Historic Pearl Harbor

Click to enlarge
See all 8 photos
Click to enlarge
Source: public domain

Historic Location and Dramatic Job Growth

Pearl City is the fastest growing place in Hawaii and Honolulu County (Oahu Island), but it is not yet incorporated. Pearl City grew in residency by 4% from 2008 - 2009, to over 10,000 households and approximately 31,000 people.

The community ls situated about 9 miles northwest of Honolulu and along the north shore Pearl Harbor, where many World War II Memorials draw tourists every year. The community encompasses just under 6 square miles of property that is filled with residences and commercial enterprises that include several shopping centers, but also with several official playgrounds and parks.

BusinessWeek highlights Pearl City as one of the 52 fastest-growing places in the US in 2010 and the fastest growing in the State of Hawaii. Part of this fast growth is attributable to increasing numbers of job listings associates with the US Navy (530% job listings increase) and Air Force (over 2300% increase) at Pearl Harbor, including government contractors. Several; of the top employers listing jobs, as seen below, have openings on the military bases at Pearl Harbor.

In 2009, the readers at StoodThere.com voted The USS Arizona Memorial at Pearl Harbor the Number 8 Greatest Place to Stand (for pictures) in America. The USA placed a memorial over the sunken USS Arizona to honor almost 1,200 people that gave their lives on December 7, 1941 as we entered WWII.

USS Arizona Memorial

Aerial View of the USS Arizona Memorial with a US Navy (USN) Tour Boat, USS Arizona Memorial Detachment.
Aerial View of the USS Arizona Memorial with a US Navy (USN) Tour Boat, USS Arizona Memorial Detachment.
Source: public domain
show route and directions
Pearl Harbor Hawaii -
Pearl Harbor, HI, USA
[get directions]

Pearl City HI -
Pearl City, HI, USA
[get directions]

USS Arizona Memorial -
USS Arizona Memorial, Ewa, HI, USA
[get directions]

Pearl City Peninsula

The southernmost portion of Pearl City extends into Pearl Harbor toward the US military bases maintained there and forms a residential area for military personnel and familes.

The peninsula community is gated and guarded, withlarge expanses of green space. All homes are faily near the waterfront. Historic homes from the 1930s are closest to the water and the peninsula and Pearl Harbor bases are the sites of many places listed in the National Historic Register of the US.

This Forest City military community contains tis own community center, swimming pool, and dog park, along with a convenience store, gas station, shoreline hiking trail, and 24-hour security.

Stimulus Jobs

The Volunteer Internship Program allow Hawaiians on Unemployment to intern at local businesses for eight weeks and still receiving UI Payments. They may receive job offers through these internships and certainly will accumulate expereince for their resumes. Interested job-seekers can apply at www.hirenethawaii.com or www.hawaii.gov/labor/ui/vip.

Housing Costs in 2012 - Lower than Expected

Houses for Sale in Pearl City for February 2012

  • Number = 77 (Zillow)
  • Price Range = $100,000 to $850,000
  • Median Price = $210,000

Rentals/Apartment Living

  • Condos at $1,000 to $2,000/month on Zillow real estate site
  • 3-4 Bedroom Houses at $1,550 to $2,600/month

Local Advertising

  • Franciscan Vistas Ewa Apartments - 1 BR from $519 to $885
  • West Loch Elderly Village - 1 BR from $605 - $743

22,000% Increase in Military Jobs to January 2012

Source: Permission with attribution: Data provided by SimplyHired.com, a search engine for jobs.

Top Hiring Employers 2012

  1. CACI International
  2. Kaiser Permanente - Health
  3. SAIC - Science and IT
  4. CSC - Computer Science Corporation
  5. Avalon Health
  6. Hawaii Pacific Health
  7. Parker Brinckeroff
  8. HP
  9. General Dynamics
  10. Fastaff Travel Nursing
  11. Sears, Roebuck & Co. - One of the largest employers in Pearl City.
  12. Hawaii Medical Service Association
  13. US Air Force
  14. US Navy - Navy and Marine Corps openings
  15. US Army
  16. Randstad
  17. Robert Half
  18. Accountemps

Top 10 Hot Jobs - 5,000+ Jobs in Feb. 2012

  1. Faculty at University of Phoenix - many openings.
  2. Engineers - IT, Mechanical, Electrical, Military-based, Other -- High Pay
  3. Nurses - RNs, LPNs - TRAVEL NURSES ARE VERY HIGH PAY
  4. Sales Representatives - some are very High Pay
  5. Physical Therapists - High Pay
  6. Pharmacy Technicians
  7. Medical Assistants
  8. Medical Technologists
  9. Administrative Assistants
  10. Financial Advisors & Account Executives - High Pay

Additional High-Demand Occupations

  • Accountants
  • Pharmacists - High Pay
  • Technical Project Managers - Medium to High Pay
  • Clinical Dietitians
  • Respiratory Therapists

Military Jobs up 2300% to December 2009

US Air Force: 2320% Increase.
US Air Force: 2320% Increase.
US Navy: 530% Increase
US Navy: 530% Increase

Federal Projections of High-Growth Jobs, 2006 - 2016

The occupational groups listed in bold type below are those that already take prominence in daily job listings in 2010.

  1. Education, Training, and Library
  2. Food and Beverage Prep and Serving Related Occupations
  3. Healthcare Practitioners and Technicians
  4. K-12 and Special Education Teachers
  5. Protective Services
  6. Healthcare Support jobs AND Business and Financial Operations (tie)
  7. Postsecondary Teachers (College and vocational level)
  8. Personal and Home Health Care related jobs
  9. Maintainence and Landscaping types of jobs
  10. Sales and related jobs

NEW JOB SURGE BEGAN JANUARY 2012

A new Increase in jobs began in January 2012
A new Increase in jobs began in January 2012
Source: Permission with attribution: Data provided by SimplyHired.com, a search engine for jobs.

Increase in Job Listings: 118% Overall

Data provided by SimplyHired.com, a search engine for jobs.
Data provided by SimplyHired.com, a search engine for jobs.

TOP 10 LARGEST EMPLOYERS (by number of workers)

  1. Oahu Transit Services Inc
  2. Sears, Roebuck & Co
  3. Central Pacific Bank
  4. Home Depot USA
  5. Pacific Knight Security & Park
  6. Akahi Services, Inc
  7. PC Care Corp
  8. Rei Food Service Llc
  9. Entertainment America Inc
  10. Shioi Construction

TOP 5 LARGEST COMPANIES (by annual sales)

The top sales producing companies in Pearl City are involved in groceries and general merchandise, commerical construction, and lawn and lanscaping services:

  1. Hawaiian Housewares, Ltd - Grocery, tobacco, and confections.
  2. S & M Sakamoto Inc - Commerical and industrial construction.
  3. S Group Inc - Industrial construction.
  4. Akahi Services, Inc - Lawn and garden service.
  5. Lee Rhs Inc - Demolition and grading.

Note that the largest employers by sales and number of employers are not among the top hiring companies listed above.

Higher Education

Nearby Technical and Vocational Schools in Honolulu:

  • Argosy University Undergraduate School
  • Argosy University Graduate School
  • Heald College
  • University of Phoenix

Healthcare System

  • Apria Healthcare
  • Kaiser Permanente Medical Center - Near Tripler Army Medical Center
  • Kapiolani Medical Center at Pali Momi‎
  • Waimano Hospital Dental Clinic - operated by the State of Hawaii, northeast of Pearl City

Several pet clinics and pet hospitals are also located in Pearl City and the surrounding area.:‎

Shopping Centers

The Waikele Center operates its own Trolley Car system to shuttle customers to and from Waikiki, about 30 minutes away. The mall is a regional open-air shopping complex immediately west of Pearl City at Interstate H-1 and Paiwa Street. It offers a combination of small retailers and Big Box stores: Lowe’s, K-Mart, Office Max, Sports Authority, Old Navy, Borders, Starbucks, Chili’s Grill & Bar, McDonald’s, and other fast food. A number of professional services are located in or adjacent to the center as well.

The property under the center was a sugarcane field before the mall opened in 1993. Today, a number of buses, trolleys, shuttles, and other transportation makes it easy for tourists and residents to enjoy the mall and spend their discretionary income. In addition, the Waikele Golf Club surrounds the shopping center on three sides. Wakalena Golf Course is less than one mile to the south. Waikele Center is a meeting place that boosts the local economy.

***********

Pearl Ridge Center was opened as Pearlridge Uptown in the early 1970s and soon added another mall Downtown to total two enclosed malls connected by a monorail service.

In between the two malls is Sumida Farm, the top grower of watercress in Hawaii. All of this and additional malls lie along the main thoroughfare through Pearl City: Kamehameha Highway (Route 99). Pearl Ridge features the one and only monorail transport system for customers on the island, traveling between the malls and allowing passengers to view Pearl Harbor and the USS Arizona Memorial.

Besides a different array of stores than any of the other malls on the highway, Pearl Ridge also features 2 food courts, 12 full-service restaurants, a mini-golf course, 2 gaming arcades, 16 theaters, an Emergency Medical Clinic, and other services.

LOCAL HISTORY

The USS Arizona was a Pennsylvania-class battleship of the US Navy.
The USS Arizona was a Pennsylvania-class battleship of the US Navy.

Pearl Harbor

The US began using Pearl Harbor in 1887 and developed it into a US Naval Base in preparation for World War I. However, World War II began for America when the naval base was attacked on December 7, 1941 by the Japanese in a sneak attack that coincided with Japanese envoys meeting with US officials in Washgonton DC.

Two hundred US military aircraft were destroyed. 3,000 US Navy and other armed forces people were killed or injured. The USS Arizona (see above), was a 608-foot battleship used in WWI, but it sank in just 9 minutes.

A total of 1,177 Navy sailors and US Marines died on the Arizona. Today, the ship's deck is 6 feet below the surface of the harbor, their permanent burial ground. The USS Arizona memorial stands over and across the ship. US Navy launches shuttle people to and from the memorial, a museum, and a video presentation.

Today the military base is known as Pearl Harbor-Hickam; Naval Station Pearl Harbor is the US Navy's busiest port, filled with military vessels and a large recreations services division for servicemen and women and their families. Hickam Air Force Base is co-located at Pearl Harbor.

Join HubPages for Free and Voice Your Comments

If you are not yet a member of HubPages, maybe you's like to join, because it's FREE and you can join HERE.


Comments and Additions

Patty Inglish, MS profile image

Patty Inglish, MS Hub Author 3 months ago

Books Galore - I find a number of very well paying jobs in Pearl City and while some housing is $ky-high, there are also homes and apartments at the same price or just a bit high than here in Ohio. Cost of living is high at 183, compared to 100 for the country - food especially!

Patty Inglish, MS profile image

Patty Inglish, MS Hub Author 3 months ago

Thanks for that tip; I'll look into it. However, with many cities, housing exists that is not only good and affordable, but in the presence of higher paying jobs if one knows where to look.

Thanks again!

BooksGalore profile image

BooksGalore Level 1 Commenter 3 months ago

I lived on Oahu for 21 years until last August. The cost of living in Hawaii is very high (especially housing) and job salaries don't tend to be high enough to meet the increased costs.

h2oforthegaslit profile image

h2oforthegaslit 2 years ago

Your hubs are always so very informative, accurate, interesting, and - well done!!

salt profile image

salt 2 years ago

thanks interesting writing as always.

amulets profile image

amulets 2 years ago

Thanks for your hub. It gives me a direction of job that I want to be getting involved with. Happy to know of the hot job opportunity available.

Submit a Comment
Members and Guests

Sign in or sign up and post using a hubpages account.



    • No HTML is allowed in comments, but URLs will be hyperlinked
    • Comments are not for promoting your Hubs or other sites

    Please wait working