Contact: Neal_Fried          John Boucher      

Department of Labor and Workforce Development

News Release

Alaska February Unemployment Another Record Low
Statewide Jobless Rate 7.5% in February

Alaska's statewide unemployment rate set a record low for the second consecutive month, despite a slight increase from January's 7.4% rate. February's 7.5% jobless rate bested the previous record low for February of 7.7%, set in February 1998. John Boucher, a labor economist with the Alaska Department of Labor and Workforce Development, reported the statistics.

There were 23,500 jobless Alaskans in February, an increase of about 200 from January. In February 1999, the unemployment rate was 8.6% and there were nearly 26,800 unemployed. The comparable national unemployment rate for February (civilian not seasonally adjusted) was 4.4%.

Unemployment claims data indicate that the improvement in the unemployment rate from the previous year can be largely attributed to lower levels of unemployment in Alaska's oil and gas sector. The number of weeks of unemployment benefits claimed by former oil industry employees is 40 percent below February 1999's level. That month, the oil industry was undergoing major consolidation as a result of low oil prices. Boucher said other industries are also showing declines in unemployment claims activity, but none so dramatic as in oil and gas.

In several areas, openings in Alaska's winter fisheries were credited with lowering February unemployment rates. "Kodiak and the Aleutian Islands experienced drops in their unemployment rates last month," Boucher commented. "Bottomfish openings, primarily pollock, put many of those areas' idled seafood processing workers back to work." Kodiak's unemployment rate dropped from 7.2% in January to 5.5% in February, and the Aleutians East Borough's rate dropped from 8.2% to 3.6%. Despite these drops, the postponement of the January opilio crab opening caused unemployment in western Alaska to be higher than last year. Southwest Alaska's regional unemployment rate was the only one that was higher than a year ago.

The highest unemployment rate was 20.4% in the Prince of Wales-Outer Ketchikan Census Area. The lowest was 3.6% in the Aleutians East Borough.

While unemployment increased in February, wage and salary employment statistics showed signs of a seasonal revival as 3,600 jobs were added. Seafood processors gained the most jobs, but mining, transportation, services and the public sector all added jobs. A small broad-based job expansion is typical in February as many industries begin rebounding from mid-winter low points.

 Labor Force by Region and Census Area

Benchmark: March 1999

P/ denotes preliminary estimates

R/ denotes revised estimates

Comparisons between different time periods are not as meaningful as other time series produced by Research & Analysis.

The official definition of unemployment currently in place excludes anyone who has not made an active attempt to find work in the four-week period up to and including the week that includes the 12th of the reference month. Due to the scarcity of employment opportunities in rural Alaskan locations, many individuals do not meet the official definition of unemployed because they have not conducted an active job search. These individuals are considered not in the labor force.

Source: Alaska Department of Labor and Workforce Development, Research and Analysis Section.  

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