Roughly 11 percent of Alaskans held more than one job at a time in 2010. For some, moonlighting is a one-time way to pay down debt or save for a high-ticket item. For others, seasonal employment offers a second-income opportunity that comes once a year. Others work two or more jobs as a year-in, year-out way of life — sometimes by choice but often by circumstance.
May 2012 Trends

Alaska has one of the highest rates of population turnover in the nation — there are always large numbers of people moving in and out, regardless of whether the overall population is growing or shrinking.

Depending on the year and data source, between 5 and 7 percent of Alaska’s population enters or leaves the state each year. These large flows in and out, or “gross migration,” tend to be fairly stable and predictable.
April 2012 Trends

Over three-quarters of a million people rode the Alaska rails in 2011, whether for breathtaking views from the trestles or to hop off the train at a remote flagstop for a hike to the family homestead.

Alaska has just two operating railroads now, but its rich history of rail lines from Nome to Prince of Wales Island helped put the state on track to greater economic development and formation of its major population centers.
March 2012 Trends

The federal government has been Alaska’s largest employer since the days before statehood, generating approximately a third of all jobs in the state. That means Alaska has a lot to lose as proposed federal budget cuts over the next 10 years could top $1.5 trillion — the largest spending cuts since the end of World War II.
February 2012 Trends

Alaska gained jobs for the second consecutive year in 2011 after ripple effects from the national and global recession ended the state’s 21-year growth streak in 2009. More growth is forecasted for Alaska in 2012 — a modest increase of 1.2 percent, or 3,900 jobs — but neither the global nor U.S. economies are on clear recovery paths yet, and that will dampen the Alaska outlook in the coming year.
January 2012 Trends