October employment was down roughly 1,100 jobs compared to 2017. This is a decrease of approximately 0.3 percent. Retail continued to have large losses and was down 800 jobs over last year. Health care continued its growth, adding 600 jobs this year. Construction was also up due to increased activity in both Anchorage and Fairbanks. Construction added 300 jobs. The public sector was flat with the Federal government adding 100 jobs and local government adding 100 jobs. State government remained flat.
Seasonally-adjusted unemployment was 6.4 percent in October, which is down one-tenth of a percent from September. Non-seasonally adjusted rates rose in many areas as the tourist season winds down for the year. Denali and Skagway’s unemployment rates rose significantly because of the areas reliance on tourism. Rural areas continue to have the highest unemployment of the state, a half-dozen areas have over 10 percent unemployment.
Complete employment data can be found online at the Alaska Department of Labor’s website.
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