June Employment Up 0.5 Percent From Last Year; Unemployment Rate At 6.4 Percent
Jul. 19, 2019
No. 19-18
JUNEAU, Alaska-Alaska's employment was up an estimated 0.5 percent in June, or 1,700 jobs, from June 2018.
Growth was widespread in the private sector, although a few industries continued to lose employment. Construction added the largest number of jobs over the year (700), followed by oil and gas (500). Manufacturing, which is mostly seafood processing, was up 400 jobs. Financial activities fell by 400 jobs, and the information sector and the "other services" category each lost 200.
Alaska had 200 more federal jobs than in June of last year. Local government lost 200 jobs and state government lost 100.
Alaska's seasonally adjusted unemployment rate remained at 6.4 percent while the comparable national rate increased to 3.7 percent.
Not-seasonally adjusted rates fell in 19 boroughs and census areas, rose in nine and remained the same in Anchorage. Fishing drove the state's lowest rates and largest monthly declines, with rates in the Aleutians East Borough, Aleutians West Census Area and Bristol Bay Borough all dropping more than a percentage point to less than 4 percent.
The rural Kusilvak Census Area, which has high year-round unemployment, had the state's highest rate at 23.2 percent. Rates were low in the urban centers at 5.2 percent in Anchorage, 5.4 percent in Fairbanks and 4.3 percent in Juneau.
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