Alaska employment down by 4,100 jobs in October

Total employment in the state dropped by an estimated 1.3 percent in October compared to a year earlier, with a loss of about 4,100 jobs, state labor officials said.

While Alaska continues to shed jobs, over the year losses for 2017 have gradually slowed, with largest loss in the current downturn at minus 2.6 percent in the fall of 2016, according to the Alaska Department of Labor and Workforce Development.

Oil and gas employment dropped by 7.8 percent, followed by 7.2 percent in construction. Meanwhile health care jobs rose by 2 percent and local government by 0.2 percent, including public schools and tribal government.  Federal jobs were down 1.3 percent and state government jobs by 2 percent.

Alaska’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate of 7.2 percent in October was unchanged from the prior two months, but higher than last October, when it was 6.6 percent. The comparable national rate for October was 4.1 percent.

The state’s not-seasonally adjusted rate was 6.7 percent, up one-tenth of a percentage point from September, which was typical for fall. Unemployment rates were up in 21 of 29 boroughs and census areas and stayed the same in two areas. Unemployment rates fell about half a percentage point in each of the three areas in the Northern Region: the Nome Census Area, North Slope Borough, and Northwest Arctic Borough.

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