The recovery in Hawaii’s construction industry will pick up speed this year thanks to a flurry of residential and commercial activity focused mostly on Oahu, according to a report released Friday by a group of University of Hawaii economists.

Stronger demand for housing particularly high-rise condominiums in Kakaako and the Honolulu Rail Project will play major roles in the growth of construction spending and job creation, the University of Hawaii Economic Research Organization reported.

"The Hawaii construction industry continues to expand," the report’s authors wrote. "Rail, housing, public infrastructure and commercial construction will combine to drive this robust expansion."

Oahu will be the "epicenter" of construction activity, with the neighbor islands experiencing a more muted expansion than during the housing boom of the 2000s, according to the report.

The increased demand for housing will drive up home prices, with the Oahu median price for a single-family home forecast to rise from $647,000 in 2013 to $710,500 in 2014 and $773,800 in 2015, according to the report.

Construction spending is forecast to increase by 8.4 percent this year to $8.2 billion, and by 16.9 percent in 2015 to $9.6 billion.

Building permits, a precursor of future construction activity, are expected to surge by 20 percent in 2014. The construction job count, which lags permitting, is forecast to grow 5.8 percent this year, accelerating to about 10 percent in 2015.

By 2016, employment in the construction industry is forecast to reach 39,000 workers, just below the peak of the last construction boom.

The 2008-2009 recession dealt a severe blow to Hawaii’s construction industry and put many carpenters and others out of work for an extended period.