Alaska jobs nearly recovered from pandemic, state labor data shows

Alaska wage and salary employment was up 1.8 percent in May, or 5,800 jobs, over the same month of 2022. Private sector jobs increased by 2 percent. The information is from monthly estimates by the Alaska Department of Labor and Workforce Development.

Total jobs estimated for May were 329,000, or 4,500 down from prepandemic May, 2019, the labor department said. The department’s monthly data are estimates from surveys of employers and typically are adjusted later when employers submit actual job data, which is required.

The monthly estimates are useful as broad gauge of the economy. They shows Alaska has nearly recovered from sharp job losses due to COVID-19. Within a few months there will be full recovery. That will likely come at the onset of winter when a sharp increase in oil construction work is expected.

The labor department’s May data shows gradual but steady growth year-over-year as well as a “spring uplift,” or the added jobs between April and May that reflecting seasonal gains. This year the uplift between April and May was about 10,000 jobs compared with 2022 when about 8,000 jobs were gained between April and May.

That indicates a strengthening state economy.

Much of this year’s gain was in leisure and hospitality, which gained 5,300 jobs in the April-May period compared with 3,100 jobs between April and May 2022. The leisure and hospitality category includes works in restaurants, drinking establishment and hotels, and generally reflects the tourist season, which is robust this year.

Comparing May 2023 with May 2022, leisure and hospitality grew the most among Alaska’s industries with 2,600 new jobs compared with 2022, exceeding pre-pandemic job levels. This shows a tourism industry that is fully recovered..

Other industries also gained in the spring uplift. Construction was up 1,900 jobs in May over April but in the year-over-year comparison of June 2023 against June 2022, there was only a slight gain of, 0.6 percent, according to the state data.

Professional and business services, which includes engineering and consulting services, gained 1,200 between May and June but was up 2.9 percent, or 800 jobs, year-over-year, compared with June 2020. Growth in this sector often indicates work on new projects under development, many in the natural resources sector.

Oil and gas employment, however, dipped 100 jobs between April and May but this is not unusual because most petroleum project work happens in winter. Declines in in the spring are normal.

Government added jobs over the year, led by federal government, which was up 400. Local government, which includes public schools, was up by 300 jobs and state government by 200. State and local government both remain below pre-pandemic levels, however.

Alaska’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate dropped to 3.6 percent in May and the comparable U.S. rate increased to 3.7 percent. Alaska’s unemployment rate is typically higher than the nation’s but that trend has often been reversed during pandemic recovery.