Alaska Employment: August Job Growth Can’t Prevent Unemployment Rate Increase
Photo Credit: FUNTAP P | DREAMSTIME
Growth in construction jobs couldn’t prevent seafood processing losses from dragging the statewide unemployment rate. The Alaska Department of Labor and Workforce Development puts the seasonally adjusted figure for August at 4.6 percent, up slightly from the 4.5 percent rate from May through July.
First Change After Three Months
The statewide unemployment rate in August compares to the national rate of 4.2 percent, which was a slight decrease from July.
The unadjusted unemployment rate in the Anchorage area fell to 3.6 percent in August from 4 percent in July. Fisheries in Southwest gave that region some of the lowest unemployment in the state, with 1.8 percent in the Bristol Bay Borough and 1.9 percent in the Aleutians East Borough. However, the region also contains the state’s highest unemployment, with 11.7 percent in the Bethel area and 19.2 percent in the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta’s Kusilvak Census Area.
Current Issue
February 2025
The total number of nonfarm jobs in August was 355,300, down from a revised 357,700 in July but 6,400 more than a year earlier. The 1.8 percent year-over-year growth was driven by 2.1 percent more jobs in the private sector, while government jobs grew by 0.9 percent.
The manufacturing sector, largely driven by seafood processing, saw the largest annual percentage drop, losing 1,300 jobs compared to August 2023, or a loss of 6.9 percent. The information sector lost 200 jobs from a year ago, for another 4.3 percent monthly contraction. Financial activities, wholesale, and retail sectors were unchanged from a year earlier, and state government employment held steady at 22,500 jobs.
The construction sector saw the biggest percentage gain, up by 12.9 percent in August compared to the year before, with the same 22,700 as the previous month. Those 2,600 new jobs, largely attributed to federally funded infrastructure and North Slope oil and gas projects, outpaced strong growth in healthcare, adding another 2,000 jobs year-over-year.
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Architecture & Engineering + Interior
February 2025
In our February 2025 issue, we highlight how architecture and engineering improve every facet of our daily lives, from increasing the availability and affordability of housing to building small businesses and improving community safety. Projects like these are helmed by Alaska’s exceptional professionals, including the 2024 Anchorage Engineer of the Year Nominees. In the Interior, Red Dog Mine and the Fountainhead Antique Auto Museum are both making big moves. Enjoy!