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June Statewide Jobless Rate 6.0%

July. 21, 2000
No. 00-06

graph of June unemployment or selected areas of Alaska

Alaska's statewide unemployment rate dropped one-tenth of a percentage point in June to 6.0%. The number of unemployed Alaskans increased slightly to more than 19,900, 350 more than in May, but the increase in the number of employed persons was more than enough to offset the increase in the number of unemployed. John Boucher, a labor economist with the Alaska Department of Labor and Workforce Development, reported the June unemployment data. The statewide jobless rate remained below last year's level and was the second-lowest rate posted for June in the last 20 years. In June 1999, the statewide unemployment rate was 6.5% and 20,900 Alaskans were unemployed. The comparable national unemployment rate in June was 4.2% (civilian not seasonally adjusted).

Many areas of Alaska saw relatively small changes in unemployment in June. Those that experienced sharper drops in unemployment tended to be areas dependent on fishing and/or tourism for summer job generation. Some of Alaska's coastal areas either posted low rates or showed improvement. Kodiak was one exception to this trend, though, and saw its unemployment rate increase from 8.8% to 12.3% due to less fishing activity. The Denali Borough, where unemployment dropped from 5.9% to 3.3% over the month, is a good example of an area rate positively influenced by the visitor industry. The Denali Borough also posted the lowest unemployment rate in the state in June. The highest rate was in the Wade Hampton Census Area, which had an unemployment rate of 21.8%.

Accompanying the drop in Alaska's jobless rate, 7,600 wage and salary jobs were added to the state's economy in June. "The biggest contributor to the June job increase was Alaska's visitor industry," Boucher said. "Hotels and lodges, retailers, passenger transportation firms and amusement and recreation services all added employees in June." Most of the rest of the job gains were accounted for by increased construction activity or seafood processors gearing up for the peak salmon processing season.

Except for a drop in federal government employment associated with the census, most job losses in June were related to the beginning of the summer vacation period for schools. Local government employment dropped 2,700 jobs from May to June as seasonal employees of local school districts were let go, and state government employment posted a drop of 1,600 jobs, most of it related to the University of Alaska.


Labor Force By Region and Census Area

Labor Force Unemployment Rate Employment
Jun-00 May-00 Jun-99 Jun-00 May-00 Jun-99 Jun-00 May-00 Jun-99 Jun-00 May-00 Jun-99
Alaska Statewide 330,099 320,780 322,080 19,958 19,608 20,900 6 6.1 6.5 310,141 301,172 301,180
Anchorage Mat-Su Region 177,299 173,832 172,066 8,665 8,487 9,300 4.9 4.9 5.4 168,634 165,345 162,766
Municipality of Anchorage 144,814 142,586 141,582 6,348 6,209 6,693 4.4 4.4 4.7 138,466 136,377 134,889
Mat-Su Borough 32,485 31,246 30,484 2,317 2,278 2,607 7.1 7.3 8.6 30,168 28,968 27,877
Gulf Coast Region 36,247 33,801 35,922 2,887 2,908 3,098 8 8.6 8.6 33,360 30,893 32,824
Kenai Peninsula Borough 22,752 21,469 23,076 1,592 1,873 2,256 7 8.7 9.8 21,160 19,596 20,820
Kodiak Island Borough 8,063 7,183 7,355 990 633 396 12.3 8.8 5.4 7,073 6,550 6,959
Valdez-Cordova 5,430 5,149 5,489 304 402 445 5.6 7.8 8.1 5,126 4,747 5,044
Interior Region 52,306 50,976 51,007 3,205 3,248 3,231 6.1 6.4 6.3 49,101 47,728 47,776
Denali Borough 1,214 1,212 1,180 40 71 38 3.3 5.9 3.2 1,174 1,141 1,142
Fairbanks North Star Borough 46,257 44,976 45,184 2,599 2,539 2,704 5.6 5.6 6 43,658 42,437 42,480
Southeast Fairbanks 2,645 2,600 2,497 235 257 152 8.9 9.9 6.1 2,410 2,343 2,345
Yukon-Koyukuk 2,190 2,188 2,147 331 381 338 15.1 17.4 15.7 1,859 1,807 1,809
Northern Region 8,552 8,524 8,191 1,127 1,026 1,108 13.2 12 13.5 7,425 7,498 7,083
Nome 3,246 3,263 3,137 454 444 474 14 13.6 15.1 2,792 2,819 2,663
North Slope Borough 3,230 3,189 3,042 362 293 307 11.2 9.2 10.1 2,868 2,896 2,735
Northwest Arctic Borough 2,076 2,072 2,012 310 289 327 14.9 13.9 16.3 1,766 1,783 1,685
Southeast Region 41,481 39,741 40,834 2,329 2,313 2,607 5.6 5.8 6.4 39,152 37,428 38,227
Haines Borough 1,210 1,178 1,222 61 80 100 5 6.8 8.2 1,149 1,098 1,122
Juneau Borough 18,071 17,277 17,786 752 721 876 4.2 4.2 4.9 17,319 16,556 16,910
Ketchikan Gateway Borough 7,628 7,308 7,459 475 470 475 6.2 6.4 6.4 7,153 6,838 6,984
Pr. of Wales-Outer Ketchikan 3,519 3,385 3,500 409 412 463 11.6 12.2 13.2 3,110 2,973 3,037
Sitka Borough 4,669 4,437 4,590 238 201 263 5.1 4.5 5.7 4,431 4,236 4,327
Skagway-Hoonah-Angoon 2,366 2,259 2,325 120 111 132 5.1 4.9 5.7 2,246 2,148 2,193
Wrangell-Petersburg 3,670 3,562 3,616 231 275 259 6.3 7.7 7.2 3,439 3,287 3,357
Yakutat Borough 349 336 337 44 44 39 12.6 13.1 11.6 305 292 298
Northwest Region 14,213 13,905 14,060 1,744 1,625 1,557 12.3 11.7 11.1 12,469 12,280 12,503
Aleutians East Borough 1,475 1,443 1,451 68 58 40 4.6 4 2.8 1,407 1,385 1,411
Aleutians West 1,870 1,836 1,873 168 159 166 9 8.7 8.9 1,702 1,677 1,707
Bethel 5,923 5,768 5,892 760 683 715 12.8 11.8 12.1 5,163 5,085 5,177
Bristol Bay Borough 589 566 555 62 47 27 10.5 8.3 4.9 527 519 528
Dillingham 1,669 1,664 1,684 159 177 170 9.5 10.6 10.1 1,510 1,487 1,514
Lake & Peninsula Borough 561 552 553 64 63 55 11.4 11.4 9.9 497 489 498
Wade Hampton 2,127 2,076 2,052 463 438 384 21.8 21.1 18.7 1,664 1,638 1,668

Alaska Nonagricultural Wage & Salary Employment

preliminary revised Changes from:
June-00 May-00 Jun-99 May-00 Jun-99
Total Nonagricultural Employment 294,300 286,700 290,200 7,600 4,100
Mining 9,900 9,800 9,500 100 400
Construction 16,200 14,400 15,600 1,800 600
Manufacturing 13,800 12,300 14,300 1,500 -500
Transportation, Commun. & Utilities 28,500 27,800 28,200 700 300
Trade 62,000 58,300 61,500 3,700 500
Finance, Insurance & Real Estate 13,200 12,900 13,200 300 0
Services & Misc. 77,500 73,500 75,500 4,000 2,000
*Government 73,200 77,700 72,400 -4,500 800

*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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