Background

State Statistics (see below for key to abbreviations)

PC/HC Aide = Personal Care/Home Care Aide HHA = Home Health Aide CNA = Certified Nursing Assistant -- These charts include numbers for the BLS occupational group "nursing aides, orderlies and attendants." Avg DCW = Average direct-care worker wages -- calculated as a weighted median United States and state abbreviations are used (ex: VT = Vermont)

In 2000 160,601 (13.3%) of Hawaii's 1,211,573 citizens were aged 65 and over, a 28.5% increase since 1990. The U.S. Census estimates that by 2030 Hawaii's elder population will increase by 103.6%. By that year the traditional caregiving workforce (women aged 25 to 44) will decrease by 1.5%.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that in 2004 3,850 nursing assistants and 1,410 home health aides worked in Hawaii earning an average of $11.31 per hour and $10.16 per hour, respectively. There was no data reported on personal care/home care aides reported for 2004. These numbers do not include many direct-care workers who are self-employed.

According to a survey by the American Healthcare Association (AHCA) in 2002 the statewide vacancy rate for Hawaii CNAs was 3.6% and the turnover rate was 20.7%. It is anticipated that the state's already high rates of direct-care worker vacancies and turnover will get worse as the population continues to age, and the 'care gap' between those needing care and those available to care for them continues to widen.

Sources:

1) The 65 years and over population: 2000, Census 2000 Brief
2)American Health Care Association, 2003 Results of the 2002 AHCA survey of nursing staff vacancy and turnover in nursing homes