Alaska’s Department of Labor and Workforce Development released the September employment numbers and employment was down 0.6 percent from September 2017 and the unemployment rate dropped 2-tenths of a percent from August 2018.
The industries with the biggest losses were Retail, Professional and Business Services and Oil and Gas with losses of 900, 500 and 400 respectively. Job growth came from Health Care, Transportation, Construction, and Leisure and Hospitality with increases of 600, 300, 200 and 100 respectively. Overall, the Public Sector lost 500 jobs due to large losses in Local Government (400) and State Government (200). Federal Government only added 100 jobs, which didn’t come close to evening out the losses felt in the other areas of the sector.
The seasonally adjusted unemployment rate fell two-tenths of a percent in September and is down eight-tenths of a percent since January. It is still well-over the national average, which was 3.7 percent in September.
The rates fall within usual employment activity around the state and we will start to see further increases in the not-seasonally adjusted unemployment as the tourism and fishing seasons wrap up for the year.
Full employment details can be found at the State of Alaska’s website.
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