Radio New Zealand - Te Reo Irirangi o Aotearoa

CNMI’s economy begins to see positive developments

Posted at 22:32 on 21 November, 2012 UTC

An economic analysis by First Hawaiian Bank says the Northern Marianas are beginning to see positive development after seemingly hitting rock bottom in the past couple of years.

The territory’s economy grew 2.3 percent in 2010 after declining every year since 2003.

In that period the CNMI lost nearly a third of its population.

The growth has lifted wages with average per-capita income rising 5.35 percent to 11,484 US dollar in 2010.

Another positive sign is the state of the key tourism industry, up nearly 20 percent this year.

Inflation is also down, at 2 point 7 percent, from a high of 14.8 percent in 2007.