Alaska’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate stood at 7.0 percent in July, up two-tenths of a percentage point from June, and comparable with the national rate for July of 4.3 percent, state labor department researchers said.
July employment was down by an estimated 7,500 jobs, or 2.1 percent from July 2016. Preliminary estimates show job losses spread across most industries, with the deepest losses concentrated in industries closely tied to oil and gas.
Oil and gas industry job losses totaled 1,500 positions, followed by construction, down 1,200 jobs; professional and business services and state government, both down by 1,000 jobs. Local and federal government and health care were the only industries to gain jobs over the year. Local government includes public schools and tribal government.
The monthly employment rates do not reflect the percentage of jobs in each area held by residents and non-residents.
July’s not-seasonally adjusted unemployment rate was 6.6 percent, down four-tenths of a percentage point from June, a slightly smaller than usual July decline, labor officials said. July and August are peak months for seasonal employment in seafood processing, construction and leisure and hospitality.
Statewide unemployment rates fell in 25 of 29 boroughs and census areas. Fishing and tourism drove the lowest rates in Bristol Bay, at 1.6 percent, followed by Aleutians East and West at 1.9 percent and 2.8 percent respectively; and Skagway, at 3 percent. Kusilvak census area continued to have the highest rate at 24.5 percent.
State labor economist Alyssa Rodrigues, in Anchorage, notes that the complex effort to compile unemployment rates involves collecting data on the number of people employed, the number of unemployment insurance claims, telephone surveys conducted by the U.S. Census Bureau, and more.
Seasonally adjusted rates compare unemployment on a month-to-month basis, and say something about the economy as a whole, while non-seasonally adjusted unemployment rates compare the economy on a year-to-year basis.
