State of Alaska Department of Labor and Workforce Development

A whiff of past construction booms is in the air. Many more road detours seem to plague communities around the state. New hotels, office buildings and other structures are going up without much attention, sometimes in the most unlikely places. New homes and subdivisions appear to be popping up everywhere. And more friends, family members and acquaintances are headed off to the North Slope to work on one of many construction projects.
December 1998 Trends

In an era of sharp competition to recruit both valued customers and talented workers, the smart business is constantly looking for an advantage. Many businesses are finding that competitive advantage through the Alaska Employment Service (AES) in the Alaska Department of Labor's Employment Security Division.
November 1998 Trends

The discovery of gold, World War II, the Korean War, construction of the Trans-Alaska Oil Pipeline, the decision to invest oil royalties and the fall of oil prices all have contributed positively or negatively to the Alaska economy and influenced the development of the present population of the state.
September & October 1998 Trends

For the seventh year in a row, Carr Gottstein Foods, a grocery chain, remains Alaska’s single largest private sector employer. Carr’s 1997 employment was down slightly from the previous year, however, with 3,192 workers.
August 1998 Trends

At the turn of the century, gold discoveries precipitated a stampede of fortune seekers to the Bering Strait region along Alaska's northwest coast. Thousands of wouldbe miners landed at a shoreline location that was to become the community of Nome. In 1900, according to the U.S. Census, the city of Nome was the largest settlement in Alaska, with 12,488 people.
July 1998 Trends

How expensive is it to live in Alaska? How much has Alaska's cost of living increased? These are two of the most frequently asked questions of the Alaska Department of Labor's Research and Analysis Section. In answer to these questions, this article provides some of the latest cost-of-living measurements available for Alaska and explains the uses and limitations of these data.
June 1998 Trends

Extending Alaska's 10-year string of job gains, the state's economy will continue to grow through 1999. Services, the oil and gas industry, air cargo handling, trade, and the visitor sector will combine to add nearly 10,000 new jobs by the year 2000. On the down side, manufacturing, particularly seafood processing and timber, along with the public sector, will contract. Overall, Alaska will see job growth of over two percent in 1998 followed by slower growth in 1999.
May 1998 Trends

Each January, the Alaska Department of Labor (AKDOL) revises the nonagricultural wage and salary employment data series in a procedure called benchmarking. The 1997 benchmark revised the employment estimates for 1996 and 1997. Those revised estimates are published in this issue of Alaska Economic Trends.
April 1998 Trends

A large number of nonresident workers are hired in Alaska every year, creating a negative impact on the Alaska economy. Employers hire nonresidents to work in Alaska for many legitimate reasons. However, too often employers assume that no qualified workers are available in Alaska, and therefore, they don't even attempt to hire here. Through information, education and recruitment efforts, the Alaska Department of Labor (AKDOL) is continually working to increase the employment of Alaska workers in jobs currently filled by nonresidents.
March 1998 Trends

Local public education is one of Alaska's largest industries. Alaska's local school districts, combined, represent one of the state's biggest employers. Jobs with local school districts in kindergarten through 12th grade number over 20,000--nearly seven percent of all wage and salary jobs in Alaska.
February 1998 Trends

Sitka, located on the west side of Baranof Island on the outside waters of the Southeast Alaska panhandle, is a community steeped in history. A former Russian and U.S. territorial capital, and a center of Tlingit culture, Sitka has a rich heritage and a relatively strong and diverse economy. Fishing, health care, education, tourism and government all play important roles in the local economy.
January 1998 Trends