Unemployment Declines In May

Jun. 15, 2001
No. 01-66

Alaska's statewide unemployment rate dropped one-half of one percentage point in May to 5.6%. The 5.6% rate meant that just over 18,400 Alaskans were unemployed in May, nearly 1,300 fewer than in April. Rachel Baker, a labor economist with the Alaska Department of Labor and Workforce Development, reported the declining rate. Last May, Alaska's unemployment rate was 6.8%, and almost 21,800 Alaskans were unemployed. Alaska's unemployment rate remains above the national rate, which was 4.1% in May.

Regionally, unemployment figures were mixed. Four of the state's six regions showed unemployment declines in May. In these areas, the beginning of the visitor season and vigorous construction activity brightened the employment picture. Significant unemployment rate declines were recorded in areas affected by tourist activity such as the Denali and Haines boroughs and the Valdez-Cordova and Prince of Wales-Outer Ketchikan census areas.

The southwest and northern regions of the state were exceptions to the trend of lower unemployment rates. A slowdown in employment related to the winter fisheries caused higher unemployment in southwest Alaska. The end of the winter oil drilling and construction season was the primary cause of increased unemployment in northern Alaska. The regional range of unemployment rates in Alaska was great, from the highest in the Wade Hampton Census Area at 19.3%, to the lowest of 3.6% in the Sitka Borough.

Wage and salary employment statistics helped explain the drop in May's unemployment rate. There were 11,300 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 was the only industry with employment declines in May, as seafood processing plants geared down in southwest Alaska and the Kodiak Island Borough after the winter fisheries. Continued suspension of logging activity in the Tongass National Forest also prevented the typical seasonal increase in timber employment.

Benchmark: March 2000 Source: Alaska Department of Labor and Workforce Development, Research and Analysis Section.

• Comparisons between different time periods are not as meaningful as other time series produced by Research and 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 Alaska 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.

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