Hawaii’s economy is expected to continue its stable growth track for the next few years.

In its final quarterly forecast of 2015, the state Department of Business, Economic Development & Tourism said Wednesday that it is slightly revising upward its visitor arrival projection for 2016 and noted that labor market conditions improved through the first three quarters with civilian labor force, employment and payroll jobs hitting historically high levels during that period.

The state forecast visitor arrivals and spending to rise at least through 2018.

DBEDT said that it now sees visitor arrivals for next year rising 1.7 percent to a record 8.81 million, up from its August projection of a 1.6 percent increase to 8.8 million. The state agency kept its forecast for visitor arrivals this year the same with a 4.3 percent gain that would result in a record 8.66 million visitors.

For next year, DBEDT forecast a 3.5 percent rise in spending to a record $15.96 billion. The percentage increase is the same as in its August forecast, but the dollar amount is lower than previously forecast because DBEDT said it now expects visitor spending this year to rise just 3.2 percent — rather than 3.8 percent — to $15.42 billion.

DBEDT said its report indicates a shift in the visitor market due to the weakening yen that contributed to Japanese arrivals declining by 1 percent through September of this year and spending by Japanese visitors plunging by 10.1 percent.

That was offset by visitor arrivals from the U.S. West market increasing 7.5 percent and visitor expenditures from this market rising 6.9 percent.

“We are pleased that Virgin America started a new daily flight from San Francisco to Honolulu on Nov. 2 and will start a new daily flight from San Francisco to Kahului on Dec. 3 this year,” DBEDT Director Luis Salaveria said. “This will bring more West Coast visitors to our state and offset the decline in Japanese visitors. This news and the continued growth in our local job market are positive trends in our state’s economy.”

DBEDT said it’s a virtual certainty that 2015 will conclude with a fourth consecutive record year for visitor arrivals.

“From the passenger count data DBEDT collects on a daily basis, passengers increased 4.1 percent for October and 4.8 percent for the first two weeks of November,” DBEDT chief economist Eugene Tian said. “With an increase of 3.8 percent in scheduled air seats to Hawaii for the fourth quarter, we are confident that 2015 will be a record year for visitor arrivals.”

Fueling the overall optimism for the economy are 8,100 non-agriculture payroll jobs that were added during the first nine months of 2015 from the year-earlier period and an unemployment rate that averaged 3.9 percent from January through September.

DBEDT projects that non-agriculture payroll jobs will increase 1.3 percent in 2015, higher than the projection of 1.1 percent forecast in August, and will continue to increase annually at a range of about 1.0 percent to 1.2 percent over the next three years.

The construction industry, which has been slow the last couple of years to meet expectations, continues to pick up steam. The value of private building permits issued during the first nine months of 2015 jumped 28.7 percent from the year-ago period and construction jobs rose 3.5 percent during that same time frame. The rise in construction jobs represented the second-highest growth among all the industries, with the arts, entertainment, and recreation category leading the way with 4.3 percent growth.

Hawaii’s inflation-adjusted gross domestic product — the broadest measure of economic output — is now projected to end this year up 2 percent, slightly above the 1.9 percent previously projected. And for next year, DBEDT sees the state’s GDP rising 2.3 percent — the same as previously forecast.