Alaska Unemployment Drops to 6.1% in May

Jun. 16, 2000
No. 00-55

May Unemployment for selected areas Regionally, unemployment was mixed. Four of the state's six regions showed unemployment drops, while the Northern Region and Southwest Alaska posted higher unemployment rates. "The beginning of the peak visitor season and a vigorous construction industry brightened the state's unemployment picture," Boucher commented. "Most of urban Alaska geared up for the tourism season and another solid construction season."

The Kodiak Island Borough, Southwestern Alaska and Northern Alaska were exceptions to the trend of dropping unemployment rates. A slowdown in employment related to the winter fisheries caused higher unemployment in Kodiak and Southwest Alaska. The end of the winter oil drilling and construction season was a major cause of increased unemployment in Northern Alaska. The highest unemployment rate in Alaska was in the Wade Hampton Census Area at 21.0%, while the lowest was in the Aleutians East Borough at 4.0%.

Wage and salary employment statistics helped explain the sharp drop in the unemployment rate. There were 11,000 more wage and salary jobs available in the state than in April. Retail trade, tourist-related services, construction and the transportation industry contributed most of the job growth. Manufacturing employment losses were restricted to Southwestern Alaska and Kodiak, where seafood processing plants geared down after the winter fisheries. Federal government employment gains related to temporary workers hired for the 2000 Census accounted for most of the government employment gains seen from April to May.

Labor Force By Region and Census Area

	Labor Force			Unemployment			Rate			Employment
	May-00	Apr-00	May-99	May-00	Apr-00	May-99	May-00	Apr-00	May-99	May-00	Apr-00	May-99
Alaska Statewide	320,776	314,797	314,244	19,604	20,883	21,166	6.1	6.6	6.7	301,172	293,914	293,078
Anchorage /Mat-Su Region	173,715	172,407	168,498	8,484	9,129	9,107	4.9	5.3	5.4	165,231	163,278	159,391
Municipality of Anchorage	142,497	141,936	139,186	6,207	6,586	6,578	4.4	4.6	4.7	136,290	135,350	132,608
Mat-Su Borough	31,218	30,471	29,312	2,277	2,543	2,529	7.3	8.3	8.6	28,941	27,928	26,783
Gulf Coast Region	33,787	32,412	34,018	2,908	3,222	3,691	8.6	9.9	10.9	30,879	29,190	30,327
Kenai Peninsula Borough	21,460	20,836	21,466	1,873	2,321	2,229	8.7	11.1	10.4	19,587	18,515	19,237
Kodiak Island Borough	7,180	6,614	7,483	633	425	1,053	8.8	6.4	14.1	6,547	6,189	6,430
Valdez-Cordova	5,147	4,961	5,069	402	475	409	7.8	9.6	8.1	4,745	4,486	4,660
Interior Region	51,122	48,789	50,056	3,248	3,469	3,347	6.4	7.1	6.7	47,874	45,320	46,709
Denali Borough	1,215	1,206	1,196	71	123	80	5.8	10.2	6.7	1,144	1,083	1,116
Fairbanks North Star Borough	45,106	42,998	44,209	2,539	2,702	2,678	5.6	6.3	6.1	42,567	40,296	41,531
Southeast Fairbanks	2,607	2,509	2,516	257	285	223	9.9	11.4	8.9	2,350	2,224	2,293
Yukon-Koyukuk	2,194	2,075	2,134	381	359	365	17.4	17.3	17.1	1,813	1,716	1,769
Northern Region	8,527	8,657	8,234	1,026	934	998	12	10.8	12.1	7,501	7,723	7,236
Nome	3,264	3,300	3,146	444	396	426	13.6	12	13.5	2,820	2,904	2,720
North Slope Borough	3,190	3,242	3,055	293	259	260	9.2	8	8.5	2,897	2,983	2,795
Northwest Arctic Borough	2,073	2,116	2,033	289	279	312	13.9	13.2	15.3	1,784	1,837	1,721
Southeast Region	39,677	37,867	39,530	2,313	2,678	2,548	5.8	7.1	6.4	37,364	35,189	36,982
Haines Borough	1,176	1,167	1,219	80	135	134	6.8	11.6	11	1,096	1,032	1,085
Juneau Borough	17,249	16,298	17,132	721	732	773	4.2	4.5	4.5	16,528	15,566	16,359
Ketchikan Gateway Borough	7,296	7,034	7,246	470	605	490	6.4	8.6	6.8	6,826	6,429	6,756
Pr. of Wales-Outer Ketchikan	3,380	3,250	3,408	412	455	470	12.2	14	13.8	2,968	2,795	2,938
Sitka Borough	4,430	4,188	4,423	201	205	237	4.5	4.9	5.4	4,229	3,983	4,186
Skagway -Hoonah-Angoon	2,255	2,170	2,237	111	151	115	4.9	7	5.1	2,144	2,019	2,122
Wrangell-Petersburg	3,557	3,444	3,536	275	353	288	7.7	10.2	8.1	3,282	3,091	3,248
Yakutat Borough	335	315	328	44	41	40	13.1	13	12.2	291	274	288
Southwest Region	13,948	14,665	13,908	1,625	1,451	1,475	11.7	9.9	10.6	12,323	13,214	12,433
Aleutians East Borough	1,448	1,532	1,482	58	41	79	4	2.7	5.3	1,390	1,491	1,403
Aleutians West	1,841	1,919	1,834	159	115	137	8.6	6	7.5	1,682	1,804	1,697
Bethel	5,786	6,067	5,764	683	596	616	11.8	9.8	10.7	5,103	5,471	5,148
Bristol Bay Borough	567	629	558	47	71	33	8.3	11.3	5.9	520	558	525
Dillingham	1,669	1,776	1,668	177	176	162	10.6	9.9	9.7	1,492	1,600	1,506
Lake & Peninsula Borough	554	586	544	63	60	49	11.4	10.2	9	491	526	495
Wade Hampton	2,082	2,156	2,059	438	393	400	21	18.2	19.4	1,644	1,763	1,659

Alaska Nonagricultural Wage & Salary Employment

	preliminary	revised		Changes from:
	May-00	Apr-00	May-99	Apr-00	May-99
Total Nonagricultural Employment	286,600	275,600	281,600	11,000	5,000
Mining	9,800	9,700	9,700	100	100
Construction	14,300	12,500	13,800	1,800	500
Manufacturing	12,200	12,900	12,900	-700	-700
Transportation, Commun. & Utilities	27,800	25,700	26,600	2,100	1,200
Trade	58,300	55,600	57,800	2,700	500
Finance, Insurance & Real Estate	12,800	12,700	12,800	100	0
Services & Misc.	73,700	70,300	71,600	3,400	2,100
Government	77,700	76,200	76,400	1,500	1,300

Government includes employees of public schools and the University of Alaska.
Benchmark date: March 1998

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

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