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State of Alaska > DOLWD > Alaska
Economic Trends
2002 Alaska Economic Trends
Alaska Economic Trends are searchable from 1978 to the present using the Trends search page. The search can include any combination of the title or subtitle, date or date range, author, or full text.
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December 2002 |
Education in Alaska |
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The everyday view of education focuses on the young and what they
are learning in school. This article presents an historical perspective
of Alaska’s population and the changes in the educational profile
of generations. Like tree rings, a population’s education profile
records the climate that affects it. When socio-economic conditions
are favorable, educational levels tend to rise. When they are not,
this growth is stunted. December 2002
Trends |
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November 2002 |
The Delta Region |
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Just seven years ago it looked as if the Delta region were about
to lose most of its economic base with the planned closure of Fort
Greely. In 1995 it was estimated that nearly half of the economic
base in the Delta region was associated with the fort. It was thought
that business tied to the Alaska and Richardson highways, the Trans-
Alaska Pipeline, transfer payments and farming could sustain a limited
amount of economic activity but it certainly would not fill the shoes
the Army was about to leave. November
2002 Trends |
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October
2002 |
Rental Housing
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Alaska has a higher proportion
of its population living in rental housing than most states, ranking
seventh in the U.S., according to Census 2000 figures. About 34
percent of Alaskans live in rental housing. Trends in the residential
rental market are of interest to tenants, landlords, banks, developers,
and public housing agencies.
October 2002 Trends |
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September
2002 |
The Bethel Census Area |
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The Bethel census area encompasses
a 41,087 square mile area in western Alaska, nearly the size of
the state of Ohio. Two types of landscapes predominate. In the southwest
lies the vast Yukon-Kuskowim delta region, commonly referred to
as the Y-K delta. In this lower section the Kuskokwim River flows
southwest and effectively divides the Y-K delta region into a western
and eastern half.
September 2002 Trends |
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August
2002 |
The Trends 100 |
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After many years of steady, rapid
climb, Providence Health System in Alaska grabbed the top spot on
the Trends 100 list in 2001. With a workforce of 3,369, it is now
Alaska’s largest private sector employer (See Exhibit 1.)
Providence's ascendance was anticipated a number of years ago, but
was temporarily delayed when Safeway bought Carrs. Ten years ago
Providence had a workforce of 1,824.
August 2002 Trends
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July 2002 |
The Eating and Drinking
Industry |
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It is not just your imagination
that eating places appear to be popping up literally everywhere
these days—in gas stations, schools, airports, hotels, stores,
along with those ubiquitous coffee shacks, and your actual stand-alone
fast food eateries, bars, and sit-down restaurants. The eating and
drinking industry is mushrooming across the nation.
July 2002 Trends
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June 2002 |
The Cost of Living |
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Around the water cooler and in
serious circles, Alaska’s cost of living has ever been a major
source of conversation. Much lore and myth surround the cost of
things in Alaska. Although the cost-of-living differential between
Alaska and elsewhere in the nation has narrowed, it remains a topic
of intense interest, ranking among the most requested economic data.
This article is intended to satisfy most of these data needs.
June 2002 Trends |
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May 2002 |
Employment Outlook |
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Industries relying on natural
resource development and extraction and those selling Alaska’s
beauty drive Alaska’s labor force. Oil and gas, seafood, and
tourism employ a significant share of the state’s workforce.
In recent years, Alaska’s economy has better weathered the
storms associated with high and low oil prices, fluctuating fish
harvests, and fickle tourists than it did thirty years ago. Today,
while the health of resource-based industries still heavily influences
the workforce, the state has a more diversified economy.
May 2002 Trends |
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April 2002 |
The Year 2001 In Review |
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Year 2001 marked the thirteenth
consecutive year of job growth in Alaska, the second longest period
of expansion in the state's history. It was another good year for
the oil industry, which recorded its second straight year of growth,
adding another 1,000 jobs in 2001 after contributing 900 jobs to
the state's economy in the year 2000. Construction was also strong,
but the biggest portion of 2001's job growth was once again in the
services sector.
April 2002 Trends
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March 2002 |
Alaska's Labor Force |
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The aging of Alaska’s labor
force has been well documented in Alaska Economic Trends and other
sources. Alaska’s population and economic trends of the past
thirty years will have an impact on the state’s economy for
years to come. This article will review how Alaska’s labor
force became what it is today, and take a look at what might happen
in the future.
March 2002 Trends |
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February
2002 |
The Federal Government
in Alaska |
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Ever since the purchase of Alaska
from Russia in 1867, the federal government has been a heavy weight
on Alaska's economic scene, and this is still true today.
February 2002 Trends |
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January
2002 |
Manufacturing |
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Manufacturing was once the industrial
heart of America. The steel mills of Pittsburgh and the automobile
factories of Detroit attracted large numbers of immigrants to high
paying jobs...
January 2002 Trends
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