Taking a break from the State budget, the unemployment numbers were released by the Alaska Department of Labor and Workforce Development on Friday. December’s rate of 6.5 percent was virtually unchanged from November, which sat at 6.4 percent.
This was also the case for the national number, which was 5.0 percent in both November and December of 2015. There was no clear trend in the unemployment numbers in Alaska during 2015, which would suggest a relatively flat economy. Alaska is still above the national average, which has been the trend since mid-2013.
27 out of 29 census areas and borough were flat or had an increase in unemployment in December. This is very common for Alaska this time of year. As in November, the Municipality of Skagway and the Kusilvak Census Area had the highest rates with 22.6 percent and 20.6 percent, respectively. Juneau and the North Slope Borough both held the lowest rates at 4.7 percent.
For detailed employment estimates, visit http://live.laborstats.alaska.gov/
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