Alaska Unemployment Ties Record Low for July

Aug. 18, 2000
No. 01-08

July Unemployment - Selected Areas Alaska's unemployment rate fell one and three-tenths percentage points in the month of July, and in the process tied a record low for the month. The 4.7% rate posted in July equaled July 1998's rate, which was the lowest rate posted for that month since 1978. (Unemployment rates calculated prior to 1978 are not strictly comparable due to method changes.)

Brigitta Windisch-Cole, a labor economist with the Alaska Department of Labor and Workforce Development, reported the record-tying low. "Alaska's fishing, visitor and construction industries combined to add 7,900 wage and salary jobs in July," Windisch-Cole said. "These additional jobs were the most significant factor contributing to the drop in the jobless rate." The comparable national unemployment rate (civilian not seasonally adjusted) in July was 4.2%.

Regionally, communities with ties to Alaska's fishing industry showed the biggest improvement in unemployment in July. Kodiak, the Dillingham Census Area, Lake and Peninsula, and Bristol Bay boroughs showed some of the largest improvements in unemployment compared to June. The lowest unemployment rate in Alaska was posted in the Aleutians East Borough at 1.6% while the highest rate was in the Wade Hampton Census Area at 16.6%.

Wage and salary employment statistics point to some of the reasons job seekers found it easier to locate work in July. "Every industry except the public sector had more jobs available in July than in June," Windisch-Cole said. "The construction, transportation, mining and tourism-related industries were significant job gainers in July."

The biggest source of additional employment was Alaska's seafood processing industry, which added more than 6,800 jobs in response to the peak salmon processing season. However, in comparison to other Julys, the seafood processing industry posted the second-lowest number of jobs since 1989.

The drop in government employment was education-related as local school districts dropped seasonal staff from their payrolls for the summer vacation.

Labor Force By Region and Census Area

	Labor Force			Unemployment			Rate			Employment
	7/00	6/00	7/99	7/00	6/00	7/99	7/00	6/00	7/99	7/00	6/00	7/99
Alaska Statewide	332,243	330,098	326,702	15,508	19,957	17,994	4.7	6.0	5.5	316,735	310,141	308,708

Anchorage/Mat-Su Region	175,335	177,285	171,111	7,029	8,666	8,245	4.0	4.9	4.8	168,306	168,619	162,866
Municipality of Anchorage	143,569	144,776	141,242	5,176	6,348	5,993	3.6	4.4	4.2	138,393	138,428	135,249
Mat-Su Borough	31,766	32,509	29,869	1,853	2,318	2,252	5.8	7.1	7.5	29,913	30,191	27,617
Gulf Coast Region	37,344	36,220	37,486	1,950	2,887	2,613	5.2	8.0	7.0	35,394	33,333	34,873
Kenai Peninsula Borough	23,872	22,735	24,114	1,421	1,592	1,994	6.0	7.0	8.3	22,451	21,143	22,120
Kodiak Island Borough	7,796	8,057	7,735	292	990	341	3.7	12.3	4.4	7,504	7,067	7,394
Valdez-Cordova	5,676	5,426	5,637	237	304	278	4.2	5.6	4.9	5,439	5,122	5,359
Interior Region	52,269	52,456	51,655	2,530	3,205	2,705	4.8	6.1	5.2	49,739	49,251	48,950
Denali Borough	1,220	1,217	1,212	31	40	42	2.5	3.3	3.5	1,189	1,177	1,170
Fairbanks North Star Borough	46,272	46,391	45,749	2,047	2,599	2,225	4.4	5.6	4.9	44,225	43,792	43,524
Southeast Fairbanks	2,649	2,652	2,584	208	235	181	7.9	8.9	7.0	2,441	2,417	2,403
Yukon-Koyukuk	2,128	2,196	2,110	245	331	257	11.5	15.1	12.2	1,883	1,865	1,853
Northern Region	8,333	8,560	8,047	865	1,127	1,000	10.4	13.2	12.4	7,468	7,433	7,047
Nome	3,143	3,249	3,077	335	454	428	10.7	14.0	13.9	2,808	2,795	2,649
North Slope Borough	3,173	3,233	2,984	289	362	262	9.1	11.2	8.8	2,884	2,871	2,722
Northwest Arctic Borough	2,017	2,078	1,986	241	310	310	11.9	14.9	15.6	1,776	1,768	1,676
Southeast Region	42,553	41,374	42,100	1,810	2,329	2,109	4.3	5.6	5.0	40,743	39,045	39,991
Haines Borough	1,234	1,207	1,235	39	61	62	3.2	5.1	5.0	1,195	1,146	1,173
Juneau Borough	18,689	18,024	18,508	666	752	818	3.6	4.2	4.4	18,023	17,272	17,690
Ketchikan Gateway Borough	7,773	7,608	7,717	330	475	411	4.2	6.2	5.3	7,443	7,133	7,306
Pr. of Wales-Outer Ketchikan	3,543	3,511	3,469	307	409	292	8.7	11.6	8.4	3,236	3,102	3,177
Sitka Borough	4,770	4,657	4,731	158	238	205	3.3	5.1	4.3	4,612	4,419	4,526
Skagway-Hoonah-Angoon	2,449	2,360	2,412	111	120	117	4.5	5.1	4.9	2,338	2,240	2,295
Wrangell-Petersburg	3,746	3,660	3,693	168	231	181	4.5	6.3	4.9	3,578	3,429	3,512
Yakutat Borough	348	348	334	30	44	22	8.6	12.6	6.6	318	304	312
Southwest Region	16,410	14,204	16,305	1,325	1,744	1,324	8.1	12.3	8.1	15,085	12,460	14,981
Aleutians East Borough	1,730	1,474	1,742	28	68	52	1.6	4.6	3.0	1,702	1,406	1,690
Aleutians West	2,203	1,869	2,257	143	168	212	6.5	9.0	9.4	2,060	1,701	2,045
Bethel	6,849	5,919	6,773	603	760	570	8.8	12.8	8.4	6,246	5,159	6,203
Bristol Bay Borough	664	588	647	27	62	14	4.1	10.5	2.2	637	526	633
Dillingham	1,907	1,668	1,907	80	159	93	4.2	9.5	4.9	1,827	1,509	1,814
Lake & Peninsula Borough	643	560	636	42	64	39	6.5	11.4	6.1	601	496	597
Wade Hampton	2,414	2,125	2,342	401	463	343	16.6	21.8	14.6	2,013	1,662	1,999

Alaska Nonagricultural Wage & Salary Employment

	preliminary	revised		Changes From:
	7/00	6/00	7/99	6/00	7/99

Total Nonagricultural Employment	302,200	294,300	297,000	7,900	5,200
Mining	10,000	9,900	9,300	100	700
Construction	17,100	16,200	16,800	900	300
Manufacturing	20,700	13,900	20,800	6,800	-100
Transportation, Commun. & Utilities	29,100	28,600	28,500	500	600
Trade	62,900	61,700	62,100	1,200	800
Finance, Insurance & Real Estate	13,200	13,200	13,200	0	0
Services & Misc.	78,400	77,400	76,100	1,000	2,300
*Government	70,800	73,400	70,200	-2,600	600

*Government includes employees of public schools and the University of Alaska.
Benchmark date: March 1999

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

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