Alaska Employment: Nearly Half of June’s Job Growth in the Construction Sector
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Slowing growth in year-over-year job totals couldn’t budget the statewide unemployment rate. The Alaska Department of Labor and Workforce Development puts the seasonally adjusted figure for June at 4.5 percent, unchanged from May.
Growth Slowing
The statewide rate in June compares to the national rate of 4.1 percent, which was a slight increase from May. Rates have more than recovered from levels prior to the COVID-19 pandemic; unemployment rates in Alaska were typically higher than 6 percent prior to the oil price crash of 2014.
The unadjusted unemployment rate in the Anchorage area shot up to 4.6 percent in June from a revised 3.8 percent in May. Meanwhile, tourist hubs in Skagway and the Denali Borough saw unemployment rates drop to 2.7 and 2.8 percent, respectively, both equal to June 2023. Fisheries in the Aleutians East Borough and Bristol Bay Borough saw even lower rates of 2.3 and 2.5 percent, respectively, both slightly higher than unemployment rates there a year earlier.
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The total number of nonfarm jobs in June was 351,700, up by 15,000 from May. The increase of 5,200 compared to June 2023 represents 1.5 percent growth in the past year; recent months have seen year-over-year growth rates nearly twice as large. Private sector employment grew by 1.7 percent since last year, outpacing government job growth of 0.7 percent.
The manufacturing sector, largely driven by seafood processing, saw the largest annual percentage drop, losing 1,100 jobs compared to June 2023, or 6.3 percent. The information sector held steady month to month, but the drop from 4,600 jobs a year ago to 4,400 in June represents a 4.3 percent contraction. Financial activities and retail also saw year-over-year losses despite small gains since May.
The construction sector saw the biggest percentage gain, with 12 percent more jobs in June than the year before, climbing from 19,200 to 21,500. Those 2,300 new jobs, largely attributed to federally funded infrastructure projects, outpaced strong growth in healthcare and oil and gas. Healthcare employment increased by 1,600, with nearly all the gains in hospitals and outpatient care facilities.
