Alaska Employment: Job Count Rises by 1.7% in March, Unemployment Rate Flat
Photo Credit: FUNTAP P | DREAMSTIME
Several industry sectors lost jobs from February to March, but federal employment was not among them. The total job count in Alaska went up from month to month, holding the unemployment rate steady. The Alaska Department of Labor and Workforce Development puts the seasonally adjusted figure for March at 4.7 percent, holding a streak since December.
Few Fluctuations All Year
The statewide unemployment rate in February avoided the slight increase in the national rate, which ticked up from 4.1 percent in February to 4.2 percent in March.
The unadjusted unemployment rate in the Anchorage/Mat-Su Region dropped from 4.7 percent in February to 4.3 percent in March, the same as a year earlier, while all other regions saw year-to-year increases in the unemployment rate. A few local areas saw year-to-year decreases: Prince of Wales Island, Wrangell, Yakutat, Aleutians East Borough, Bristol Bay Borough, and Dillingham.
Those coastal areas improved despite the manufacturing sector, largely driven by seafood processing, continuing to lose jobs, down by 200 for a 1.7 percent contraction since March 2024. The financial activities sector also lost 200 jobs, year over year, shrinking the workforce by 1.9 percent. The 400 jobs lost in the retail sector represented a 1.2 percent drop, while the biggest percentage loss, 2.3 percent, was in the information sector, down by 100 jobs annually despite holding steady month to month.
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The total number of nonfarm jobs in March was 329,000, up from a revised 326,400 in February and 5,500 more than a year earlier, for 1.7 percent job growth. The private sector led with 1.9 percent annual job growth, while the government sector grew by 1 percent. Federal employment grew by 100 jobs since February, as did local government employment (not counting public schools). The state government workforce grew by 2.5 percent year over year, adding 600 jobs, about one-third at the University of Alaska.
The biggest percentage gain in job totals was in the oil and gas sector at 7.2 percent growth, with 600 more jobs in March than a year earlier. The transportation, warehousing, and utilities sector added the most jobs year to year, up by 1,200 for 5.4 percent growth. Construction was up by 6.6 percent, adding 1,100 jobs. The 1,100 jobs added to healthcare, the largest employment sector, represents 2.7 percent annual growth, despite remaining flat from February to March at 42,500.
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