Unemployment Rate Down Slightly to 4.7% in May
FUNTAP P | DREAMSTIME
A downward trend in Alaska’s unemployment rate resumed after holding steady in April. The Alaska Department of Labor and Workforce Development puts the seasonally adjusted figure for May at 4.7 percent.
Continued Recovery
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 4.1 percent, down from 4.3 in April. Unemployment in the Interior and Southeast Alaska also dropped, to 4.3 and 3.9 percent, respectively.
Total number of jobs increased 2.9 percent since May 2021, with 8,900 more Alaskans employed than a year earlier. That figure is still 15,300 below April 2019.
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September 2026
The leisure and hospitality sector had 3,800 more jobs than last May. The transportation, warehousing, and utilities sector was up by 1,400 jobs year over year. The 7,200 jobs in the oil and gas sector held steady for a third straight month, about 600 more than year-ago levels but 2,500 less than in 2019.
Local government was up by 800 jobs year over year. State government employment also fell 600 below last year’s level. Federal employment was up by 300 compared to May 2021 and has risen above its pre-pandemic level by about 500 jobs in Alaska.
What happens when a city with fewer than 300 residents becomes a major freight and tourism hub, despite being accessible only by boat, plane, or a one-lane highway/railroad tunnel managed on a strict schedule?
If you’re in the City of Whittier, you get busy. The city has two separate transportation planning efforts underway, including a safety action plan under the federal Safe Streets and Roads for All initiative, which focuses on improving safety for pedestrians, cyclists, motorists, and emergency responders. The second is Whittier Moves, the city’s transportation master plan, which serves as the long-term roadmap for growth.