Study: Hawai‘i is 13th Hardest Working State in US

The Hawai‘i Department of Transportation works to fix the hole on Highway 11 in Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park.

How hard do people living in Hawai‘i work? According to a new analysis, they are among the hardest workers in the nation.

The personal finance website WalletHub reports that Hawai‘i ranks No. 13 in the nation among the 2018 Hardest Working States in America according to factors like workweek hours, multi-job earners, and annual volunteer hours per capita.

Hawai‘i ranked first in the nation for having the highest employment, a trend reiterated by the state’s continuing spell of record-low unemployment rates reported in 2018. Hawai‘i also stood out in the rankings among the states with the highest average leisure time spent per day: No. 47 behind North Dakota, Nevada and Rhode Island.

Other findings in the report showed Hawai‘i residents ranked as follows (1=best, 25=average):

• 20th – Average Workweek Hours;
• 9th – Average Commute Time;
• 1st – Employment Rate;
• 18th – Share of Workers with Multiple Jobs.

On average, Americans work nearly 1,800 hours per year and 52% of employees do not use up their vacation time. Some workers fear taking time off will affect the reputation of their work ethic risking a layoff; others worry about falling behind or letting the burden of responsibilities fall on the coworkers, according to the report.