Unemployment rate drops in May

MAT-SU -- The Matanuska-Susitna Borough unemployment rate has dropped from 8.5 percent in April to 7.8 percent in May. In May 2002, the unemployment rate was 8.3 percent.

Alaska's May rate fell three-tenths of a point to 7.1 percent, with Anchorage weighing in at 5.0 percent. May's lowest unemployment rate was 4.8 percent in Sitka and the highest was 24.2 percent in Wade Hampton. The national unemployment rate was unchanged at 5.8 percent.

Alaska's seasonal industries added most of the jobs to the state's labor market in May. The construction industry added an estimated 2,800 jobs, and the accommodations industry and eating and drinking industry added another 3,500 jobs.

A press release from the Alaska Department of Labor and Workforce Development announced that more than 11,000 jobs had been added to the Alaska job market in May.