Unemployment rate holding at 6.8 percent

Alaska’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate stood at 6.8 percent in October, unchanged from September’s rate, which was revised down one-tenth of a percentage point. The comparable national rate was 4.9 percent.

The Alaska Department of Labor and Workforce Development said October’s unadjusted rate was 6.3 percent, which was one-tenth of a percentage point lower than September. It is unusual for the unadjusted rate to fall from September to October, given typical seasonality, but changes that small aren’t necessarily significant, labor officials said.

Unemployment rates were flat or fell in 10 boroughs and census areas in October.  Areas that followed the statewide trend tended to be larger and more urban, such as Anchorage and the Fairbanks North Star Borough.

Rates rose in 19 boroughs and census areas, which were mostly smaller and more seasonal. Rate increases were especially large in Skagway and the Denali Borough after the end of the tourist season.

Preliminary estimates show payroll employment was down 2.7 percent in October compared to the same month in 2015. Nearly all major sectors were flat or down in October as effects of oil industry and state government cuts rippled through the economy.

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