Alaska Unemployment Begins Seasonal Decline in March
Statewide Jobless Rate 6.9% in
March
Alaska's
statewide unemployment rate began its seasonal decline in March, dropping six-tenths of a
percentage point to 6.9%. The decline in unemployment placed this March's rate as the
second-lowest statewide unemployment rate for March since 1978. The number of unemployed
Alaskans dropped more than 1,700 to just under 21,800. John Boucher, a labor economist
with the Alaska Department of Labor and Workforce Development, reported the drop. The
comparable national unemployment rate (civilian not seasonally adjusted) in March was
4.3%.
Last March, Alaska's unemployment rate was 7.5% and
there were more than 23,300 unemployed Alaskans. The lowest rate for March was posted in
March of 1998 at 6.6%.
March's seasonal unemployment decline was felt
across most of the state as rates fell in nearly every area. Exceptions to the trend were
noted in Kodiak, Haines, and several areas in southwest Alaska. The Wade Hampton Census
Area had the highest unemployment rate in the state at 17.1%, while the Aleutians East
Borough posted the lowest rate at 3.2%.
Higher unemployment rates in southwest Alaska and
Kodiak are primarily a result of slower winter fisheries. The level of unemployment weeks
claimed in the Aleutian Islands, for example, is nearly double what it was in March of
1999. The level of employment in the seafood processing industry in that region is more
than 1,600 jobs below March 1999's level.
As unemployment began its seasonal decline in March,
wage and salary jobs increased by 3,700 statewide. Every major sector of Alaska's economy
added jobs last month. Seasonal gains in mining, construction and transportation
characterized the state's job growth. Services industry job growth was broad-based while
trade's depended largely on additional jobs in eating and drinking places. Government
employment surged on the strength of temporary federal government employees added for the
2000 Census.
Labor Force by Region and
Census Area
|
Labor
Force |
Unemployment |
Rate |
Employment |
|
3/00 |
2/00 |
3/99 |
3/00 |
2/00 |
3/99 |
3/00 |
2/00 |
3/99 |
3/00 |
2/00 |
3/99 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Alaska
Statewide |
314,183 |
314,004 |
309,026 |
21,786 |
23,539 |
23,324 |
6.9 |
7.5 |
7.5 |
292,397 |
290,465 |
285,702 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Anch./Mat-Su
Region |
173,117 |
173,203 |
167,828 |
9,401 |
10,008 |
9,943 |
5.4 |
5.8 |
5.9 |
163,716 |
163,195 |
157,885 |
Municipality of
Anchorage |
142,720 |
143,331 |
139,543 |
6,766 |
7,214 |
7,120 |
4.7 |
5.0 |
5.1 |
135,954 |
136,117 |
132,423 |
Mat-Su Borough |
30,397 |
29,872 |
28,285 |
2,635 |
2,794 |
2,823 |
8.7 |
9.4 |
10.0 |
27,762 |
27,078 |
25,462 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Gulf Coast
Region |
32,247 |
31,996 |
32,188 |
3,413 |
3,714 |
3,756 |
10.6 |
11.6 |
11.7 |
28,834 |
28,282 |
28,432 |
Kenai Peninsula
Borough |
20,855 |
20,795 |
20,932 |
2,565 |
2,856 |
2,897 |
12.3 |
13.7 |
13.8 |
18,290 |
17,939 |
18,035 |
Kodiak Island
Borough |
6,477 |
6,346 |
6,375 |
364 |
350 |
347 |
5.6 |
5.5 |
5.4 |
6,113 |
5,996 |
6,028 |
Valdez-Cordova |
4,914 |
4,854 |
4,881 |
483 |
508 |
512 |
9.8 |
10.5 |
10.5 |
4,431 |
4,346 |
4,369 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Interior
Region |
48,125 |
48,025 |
47,040 |
3,632 |
3,854 |
3,881 |
7.5 |
8.0 |
8.3 |
44,493 |
44,171 |
43,159 |
Denali Borough |
1,213 |
1,218 |
1,170 |
150 |
162 |
138 |
12.4 |
13.3 |
11.8 |
1,063 |
1,056 |
1,032 |
Fairbanks North Star
Bor. |
42,403 |
42,243 |
41,413 |
2,842 |
2,968 |
3,038 |
6.7 |
7.0 |
7.3 |
39,561 |
39,275 |
38,375 |
Southeast Fairbanks |
2,492 |
2,519 |
2,476 |
308 |
351 |
358 |
12.4 |
13.9 |
14.5 |
2,184 |
2,168 |
2,118 |
Yukon-Koyukuk |
2,017 |
2,047 |
1,981 |
332 |
374 |
347 |
16.5 |
18.3 |
17.5 |
1,685 |
1,673 |
1,634 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Northern
Region |
8,681 |
8,637 |
8,848 |
893 |
914 |
868 |
10.3 |
10.6 |
9.8 |
7,788 |
7,723 |
7,980 |
Nome |
3,307 |
3,283 |
3,377 |
379 |
379 |
377 |
11.5 |
11.5 |
11.2 |
2,928 |
2,904 |
3,000 |
North Slope Borough |
3,263 |
3,244 |
3,310 |
255 |
261 |
228 |
7.8 |
8.0 |
6.9 |
3,008 |
2,983 |
3,082 |
Northwest Arctic
Borough |
2,111 |
2,111 |
2,161 |
259 |
274 |
263 |
12.3 |
13.0 |
12.2 |
1,852 |
1,837 |
1,898 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Southeast
Region |
37,102 |
37,245 |
37,284 |
3,022 |
3,610 |
3,578 |
8.1 |
9.7 |
9.6 |
34,080 |
33,635 |
33,706 |
Haines Borough |
1,178 |
1,158 |
1,206 |
178 |
171 |
217 |
15.1 |
14.8 |
18.0 |
1,000 |
987 |
989 |
Juneau Borough |
15,919 |
15,808 |
15,907 |
844 |
930 |
997 |
5.3 |
5.9 |
6.3 |
15,075 |
14,878 |
14,910 |
Ketchikan Gateway
Borough |
6,887 |
6,916 |
6,909 |
661 |
771 |
751 |
9.6 |
11.1 |
10.9 |
6,226 |
6,145 |
6,158 |
Pr. of Wales-Outer
Ketch |
3,231 |
3,356 |
3,357 |
524 |
684 |
680 |
16.2 |
20.4 |
20.3 |
2,707 |
2,672 |
2,677 |
Sitka Borough |
4,058 |
4,059 |
4,075 |
201 |
252 |
260 |
5.0 |
6.2 |
6.4 |
3,857 |
3,807 |
3,815 |
Skagway-Hoonah-Angoon |
2,165 |
2,211 |
2,132 |
210 |
281 |
198 |
9.7 |
12.7 |
9.3 |
1,955 |
1,930 |
1,934 |
Wrangell-Petersburg |
3,359 |
3,432 |
3,414 |
366 |
478 |
454 |
10.9 |
13.9 |
13.3 |
2,993 |
2,954 |
2,960 |
Yakutat Borough |
302 |
305 |
284 |
36 |
43 |
21 |
11.9 |
14.1 |
7.4 |
266 |
262 |
263 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Southwest
Region |
14,911 |
14,898 |
15,837 |
1,425 |
1,439 |
1,298 |
9.6 |
9.7 |
8.2 |
13,486 |
13,459 |
14,539 |
Aleutians East
Borough |
1,572 |
1,575 |
1,671 |
50 |
56 |
31 |
3.2 |
3.6 |
1.9 |
1,522 |
1,519 |
1,640 |
Aleutians West |
1,982 |
1,979 |
2,073 |
141 |
141 |
88 |
7.1 |
7.1 |
4.2 |
1,841 |
1,838 |
1,985 |
Bethel |
6,144 |
6,125 |
6,545 |
560 |
552 |
525 |
9.1 |
9.0 |
8.0 |
5,584 |
5,573 |
6,020 |
Bristol Bay Borough |
647 |
651 |
693 |
77 |
83 |
79 |
11.9 |
12.7 |
11.4 |
570 |
568 |
614 |
Dillingham |
1,799 |
1,813 |
1,901 |
166 |
183 |
140 |
9.2 |
10.1 |
7.4 |
1,633 |
1,630 |
1,761 |
Lake & Peninsula
Bor. |
596 |
591 |
645 |
59 |
55 |
66 |
9.9 |
9.3 |
10.2 |
537 |
536 |
579 |
Wade Hampton |
2,171 |
2,166 |
2,310 |
372 |
370 |
370 |
17.1 |
17.1 |
16.0 |
1,799 |
1,796 |
1,940 |
Benchmark: March 1999
P/ denotes preliminary estimates
R/ denotes revised estimates
Comparisons between different time periods are not as meaningful as other time series
produced by Research & Analysis.
The official definition of unemployment currently in place excludes anyone who has not
made an active attempt to find work in the four-week period up to and including the week
that includes the 12th of the reference month. Due to the scarcity of employment
opportunities in rural Alaskan locations, many individuals do not meet the official
definition of unemployed because they have not conducted an active job search. These
individuals are considered not in the labor force.
Source: Alaska Department of Labor and Workforce Development, Research and Analysis
Section.
Return to Index
|