Hawai'i leads the nation in the percentage of jobs that are supported by international trade, according to a new study from the Business Roundtable.

The state had 165,704 jobs that are connected to international trade, or 20.5 percent of its workers. That was an increase from 11.4 percent in 1992, the business group's study said.

"Hawai'i is an export platform to the dynamic Southeast Asia economy," John J. Castellani, president of Business Roundtable, said in a news release.

"With a U.S.-Korea free-trade agreement in place, Hawai'i will be even better positioned to reap more jobs, foreign investment and exports."

The group said Hawai'i companies sold products to almost 100 countries and that China is one of the fastest-growing trading partners. It identified the top foreign markets as Singapore, Japan and China. Transportation equipment was the state's top export product, with 66 percent of total exports, it said.

A little more than 18.4 percent of jobs nationally were supported by international trade, said the report, "Trade and American Jobs."