April 19, 2003
Saturday - 1:00 pm

Alaska's unemployment rate fell nine-tenths of a percentage point in March to 7.8 percent, according to Dan Robinson, a labor economist with the Alaska Department of Labor and Workforce Development.  According to Robinson, Alaska typically sees a moderate to large decrease in its unemployment rate in March as seasonal industries begin to add jobs.  The rate is now six-tenths of a percentage point lower than a year ago.  Nationally, the

Labor Force by Region & Census Area Click on the graphic for a larger image

comparable March rate was 6.2 percent.

The number of unemployed Alaskans dropped by more than 3,200 in March to 26,144. That number is down slightly from March 2002. Alaska's labor force-the combination of employed and unemployed persons-fell by approximately 2,500 in March, as the decline in unemployment exceeded a slight increase in employment. 

According to information provided by the Alaska Department of Labor, all six of the state's economic regions shared in March's lower rates.  All but two boroughs and census areas also saw declines in March. In the Aleutians West Census Area the rate rose from 7.0 percent to 7.1 percent, and in Kodiak  the rate jumped from 6.4 percent to 11.4 percent, due mostly to the groundfish quota being taken earlier than usual.  Yakutat Borough recorded the state's highest unemployment rate in March at 19.9 percent, while the Aleutians East Borough had the lowest rate at 2.9 percent.

In Ketchikan, the March unemployment rate was reported by the Department of Labor as 9.5% - a drop from February's unemployment rate of 11.0%. Ketchikan's unemployment rate a year ago (March of 2002) was reported as 13.3%. In March 2003, information from the Department of Labor reported Ketchikan employment at 6,344. For February of 2003, the employment number was reported to be 6,256. A year ago (March 2002) the employment figure in Ketchikan was reported at 6,015.

Statewide, wage and salary jobs increased by 1,500 in March and have increased by 2,500 over the year.  The Anchorage and Mat-Su areas have contributed the lion's share of the growth, although Fairbanks and the surrounding Interior Region have also added a modest number of jobs.   
 
Growth in wage and salary jobs is scattered over most categories, the exceptions being natural resources & mining, and manufacturing.  Lower employment in the oil and gas industry and a slight reduction in seafood processing jobs account for over-the-year losses in those categories. 

Source of Information:

Alaska Department of Labor
Web Site

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