Unemployment Rate Unchanged from May to June
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Slowed Recovery
The rate in Alaska remains above the national rate of 3.6 percent, which likewise was unchanged for a third month in a row.
The unadjusted rate in Anchorage and the Matanuska-Susitna Borough was a combined 4.2 percent, up slightly from May. Southeast Alaska also increased slightly, from 3.8 to 4.1, while unemployment in the Interior was flat at 4.3 percent in June.
Total number of jobs increased 2.5 percent since June 2021, with 7,900 more Alaskans employed than a year earlier. That figure is a smaller improvement than the month before and still 20,100 below June 2019.
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September 2026
The leisure and hospitality sector had the strongest year-over-year growth, up 10.7 percent, but the 38,200 total jobs are still below the 42,800 in June 2019. Transportation, warehousing, and utilities saw 7.5 percent growth in jobs year-over-year, with 1,600 added since June 2021, yet that sector remains 2,100 jobs below June 2019. The oil and gas sector is 2,700 jobs down from 2019.
The Department of Labor points to a few sectors that have recovered to their pre-pandemic employment: construction, healthcare, wholesale trade, and the federal government.
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.