April Unemployment Rate Holds Steady
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A downward trend in Alaska’s unemployment rate leveled out in April, matching the revised rate for March. The Alaska Department of Labor and Workforce Development puts the seasonally adjusted figure for both months at 4.9 percent.
Flat Start to Q2
The rate in Alaska remains above the national rate of 3.6 percent, which likewise was unchanged from a month before.
The unadjusted rate in Anchorage and the Matanuska-Susitna Borough was a combined 4.3 percent, down from 4.5 in March. Unemployment in the Interior and Southeast Alaska also dropped, to 4.6 and 4.3 percent, respectively.
Total number of jobs increased 2.2 percent since April 2021, with 6,700 more Alaskans employed than a year earlier. That figure is still 11,800 below April 2019, a slightly smaller difference than the shortfall in March.
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June 2023
The leisure and hospitality sector had 3,900 more jobs than last April, when restaurants and tourism businesses were uncertain about the upcoming summer season. The trade, transportation, and utilities sector was up by 900 jobs year over year. The 7,200 jobs in the oil and gas sector held steady from the previous month, about 500 more than year-ago levels but 2,700 less than in 2019.
Local government was up by 900 jobs year over year. State government employment also fell 900 below last year’s level. Federal employment is the same as in April 2021 and has now risen above its pre-pandemic level by about 500 jobs in Alaska.
This year the Alaska Railroad is celebrating 100 years of transportation people and cargo around Alaska. While the railroad is one of the states oldest transporters, it certainly isn’t the only one, and in this issue of Alaska Business we also check in on the Marine Highway, Span Alaska, and the White Pass & Yukon Route. For those interested in Southeast, our focus on that region provides updates on Kensington Mine, Tongass FCU, the troll fishery, and Juneau’s growing landfill.