Many people hold more than one job during the year. Given the often seasonal nature of the work and recent fluctuations in resource prices, it's not surprising that Alaska's fishermen are no different than other workers.

What will Alaska's population look like in 2030? Projections by the Alaska Department of Labor and Workforce Development indicate that the state's total population will most likely increase by 25 percent, from 670,053 in 2006, to 838,676 in 2030. The population age 65 and older is projected to experience the largest growth of any age group, with a near tripling in size as Alaska's baby boomers move into their retirement years. Growth is also expected to be substantial for Alaska's Native population, which is projected to increase by nearly 45,000 people by 2030.

Alaska's tax revenue grew at an average annual rate of 12 percent from fiscal year 2001 through fiscal year 2006. (See Exhibit 1.) This growth came from both oil taxes and non-oil taxes. From 2006 to 2011, however, oil tax revenue is projected to decline at an average rate of 2 percent a year, while non-oil tax revenue is projected to increase at an average rate of 4 percent.

The Providence Health System first grabbed the top spot as Alaska's largest private employer in 2001, when its employment was 3,369. A decade ago it was 2,261. Now, with its 2006 work force of 3,991, Providence will soon become the fi rst private-sector employer with an average monthly work force for the year exceeding the 4,000 mark.

By most economic measures, the Matanuska-Susitna Borough has been a clear standout in Alaska over the last two decades. The source of the borough's growth is no mystery: it's within commuting distance to Anchorage, the state's largest city, and it has more affordable housing and more room to grow than Anchorage. Such a pattern of development - faster growth in the area surrounding a major city than in the city itself - is unique in Alaska, but not unlike many other parts of the country.

What do law offices, advertising agencies, telemarketing businesses, bank holding companies, armored car services and landfills have in common? Although it's tempting to say not much - or to think it's the first line of a joke - the correct answer is that they're all lumped together in a group called professional and business services, one of 11 major categories under which payroll jobs are published in Alaska Economic Trends.

Thirty years ago two welders finished the final weld on the trans-Alaska oil pipeline, a 20th century engineering marvel that has pumped billions of barrels of oil to market and billions of dollars into Alaska's economy. Next month's anniversary comes in the midst of negotiations and planning for another pipeline - the gas line to ship natural gas from the North Slope, at least partly along the same route as the oil pipeline.

The American Community Survey is a new national survey conducted every month by the U.S. Census Bureau designed to provide state and local data more frequently than every 10 years. (See sidebar, below.) When the Census Bureau released the 2005 ACS data in the fall of 2006, it marked the survey's national debut as the new replacement for the long form sample data collected during decennial censuses.

Fisheries play an economic role in Alaska similar to that of wheat farming in North Dakota or corn production in Iowa. The latest National Marine Fisheries Service release reported that over 55 percent of the total U.S. fisheries harvest by volume was taken in Alaska waters. That production translated into nearly one-third of the total U.S. harvest by value. Dutch Harbor/ Unalaska ranked first among U.S. ports interms of volume, more than doubling runner-up Reedville, Va. These are impressive numbers for a state whose population amounts to only two tenths of one percent of the nation's total.

By 2014, the number of jobs in Alaska is expected to grow by more than 48,000, bringing the state's total to more than 349,000 wage and salary jobs. Overall employment growth is expected to be 1.5 percent per year through the forecast period, driven especially by population growth and the increased availability of in-state goods and services - including medical. Although the total number of jobs is expected to grow by 16 percent from 2004 to 2014, not every industry will grow at that rate.