July Unemployment Rate 5.1%

August 20, 1999
No. 00-07

Alaska's unemployment rate moved toward its seasonal low point in July, falling nearly an entire percentage point to 5.1%, according to Neal Fried, a labor economist with the Alaska Department of Labor and Workforce Development.  Most of Alaska's seasonal industries were kicking into full gear and some were nearing their peak, adding 7,400 wage and salary jobs in July.  The addition of these new jobs was the most significant reason for the drop in the jobless rate.  Although July's unemployment rate came in slightly above last year's rate of 4.8%, it remains the second lowest jobless rate in more than 20 years-a sign that the labor market in many parts of the state was tight.  The comparable national unemployment rate in July was 4.5%.

Nearly every region of the state enjoyed jobless rates lower than the previous month.  Bristol Bay's strong salmon harvest in July of this year sliced both Dillingham's and Bristol Bay Borough's unemployment rates in half.  In fact, Bristol Bay's unemployment rate of 2.1% was the lowest in the state in July.  As the salmon season winds down, these unemployment numbers will climb again.  More than half of the areas in the state enjoyed jobless rates below five percent.  Other places in the state still show unemployment rates in the double digits.  Most of these are in rural Alaska and lack sizable visitor or fishing industries that appreciably influence their summer wage and salary employment numbers.  The highest rate was in the Northwest Arctic Borough, which had an unemployment rate of 14.2%

Only the oil industry and the public sector had fewer jobs in July than in June.  Most of the public sector losses were education related.  The oil industry's losses are still coming from the downsizing that is taking place in that industry.  The biggest job gains were related to the fishing, construction and visitor industries.  Beyond the seasonal gains, there were also 1,600 more jobs than there were a year ago.  Although most industries and the overall labor market are employing more workers than in 1998, the rate of growth has slowed because of the sizable losses in the oil industry.

Labor Force by Region and Census Area

Benchmark: March 1998

P/ denotes preliminary estimates

R/ denotes revised estimates

Comparisons between different time periods are not as meaningful as other time series produced by Research & Analysis.

The official definition of unemployment currently in place excludes anyone who has not made an active attempt to find work in the four-week period up to and including the week that includes the 12th of the reference month. Due to the scarcity of employment opportunities in rural Alaskan locations, many individuals do not meet the official definition of unemployed because they have not conducted an active job search. These individuals are considered not in the labor force.

Source: Alaska Department of Labor and Workforce Development, Research and Analysis Section.

Return to Index

###