The employment numbers for the second quarter of 2019 show that employment has increased throughout the state and the unemployment rate remained flat for the quarter.
In April, employment was up 0.9 percent, approximately 2,800 jobs from last April. Construction saw the largest gain with an increase of 1,800 jobs for the month. Health care added jobs, but at a smaller rate than past months, adding only 500 jobs. Manufacturing saw the largest loss over the past year, losing 700 jobs. In Alaska, manufacturing is mostly seafood processing.
Alaska’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate remained at 6.5 percent in April. Not-seasonally adjusted rates fell in most areas of the state. Bristol Bay Borough saw the largest decline, going from 14.9 percent to 7.7 percent as the fishing season picked up.
May’s employment growth was not as large as April’s, but still added jobs over last May. Alaska saw an additional 900 jobs, which was an increase of 0.3 percent over May 2018. Construction continued to add more jobs, with an additional 1,100 jobs, while manufacturing continued to decline, losing 600 jobs.
In May, the seasonally adjusted unemployment rate fell to 6.4 percent after being 6.5 percent for the previous nine months. This is still higher than the national average of 3.6 percent. Bristol Bay Borough continued to drop due to the summer fishing season. The borough’s rate went from 7.7 percent to 4.1 percent in May.
June continued to add more jobs to the Alaska economy. Employment increased approximately 0.5 percent, roughly 1,700 jobs in June. Construction continued its growth, adding 700 jobs, while manufacturing began to rebound from the previous two months by adding 400 jobs.
The seasonally adjusted unemployment rate remained at 6.4 percent, but the national average increased to 3.7 percent. As usual, fishing was the biggest factor in the not-seasonally adjusted rates across the state. The Aleutians East Borough, Aleutians West Census Area, and Bristol Bay Borough all had rates below 4 percent in June.
Up to date employment numbers can be found at the State of Alaska’s Department of Labor and Workforce Development’s website.
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