Alaskanomics

Alaska's May Unemployment at 6.4 percent

Alaska’s Department of Labor released its monthly unemployment rate this morning. In Alaska, the seasonally adjusted rate for May was 6.4 percent. Both the Alaska rate and the national average were unchanged from April to May. In the past 19 months, the adjusted rate in Alaska has only fluctuated three-tenths of a percent.

For many areas of the state, the change between April and May were minimal. The exceptions came in areas with high levels of seasonal activity. This includes areas with active tourism industries and summer fishing runs. The Municipality of Skagway, Denali Borough, and Hoonah-Angoon Census area rates fell by 9.6, 10.1, and 9.4 percent, respectively.

    For detailed employment estimates, see http://live.laborstats.alaska.gov/ces/.

The Department of Labor and Workforce Development is looking closely at the needs of the oil and gas industry. The industry currently employs more than 20,000 workers and estimates show that another 7,500 will be needed by 2020. The department recently released the Alaska Oil and Gas Workforce Development Plan 2014-2018. We invite you to read the plan at http://labor.state.ak.us/oilandgasplan/AOGWDP-single-pages.pdf

 

Cook Inlet Oil and Gas Study

The Anchorage Chamber of Commerce commissioned a study on Cook Inlet Oil and Gas by Northern Economics. The report that resulted from this study was published this spring. For your convenience, we have included a link to the report in the Resources section of Alaskanomics. 

It should be no surprise that the Cook Inlet oil and gas industry is extremely important to Southcentral Alaska and the rest of the state. In Anchorage, 82 percent of homes are heated by natural gas. The Anchorage Chamber of Commerce has made energy security a top priority. In a recent survey, over 40 percent of members noted that energy was a concern and the biggest concern in relation to energy was the high price due to deficient supply.

The study finds that the impact of Cook Inlet oil and gas is significant. There is a $2.8 billion economic output from the industry in Cook Inlet. $350 million of this is in payroll with 1,300 direct jobs on the Kenai Peninsula. There is a $423 million benefit from using local, Cook Inlet Gas, rather than using other fuel sources. The total worth of Cook Inlet oil and gas is $4.7 billion. This is over 10 percent of the Alaska economy and with new investment pouring into the State; Cook Inlet appears to be rebounding.

The view the full report, please use this link.