Alaska has produced job growth for sixteen consecutive years, and is expected to add two more years to the streak in 2004 and 2005. (See Exhibits 1 and 2.) Growth rates of roughly two percent from 2000 to 2002 slowed to 1.5 percent in 2003 and are expected to remain near that level for the next two years.
Alaska added about 4,500 new jobs in 2003, continuing an impressive sixteen consecutive years of employment growth. Slightly more than half of the new jobs were in health care and social assistance. The state's 1.5 percent growth rate in 2003 was down from the levels of the last three years, but was still healthy compared to most of the country, which continued to struggle to create jobs following the 2001 recession.
In the last decade, the communities of Southeast Alaska have followed divergent economic paths. Juneau, the state's capital, has seen steady growth, while much of the rest of the region has seen heavy job losses in the timber and fishing industries. Although intuition might suggest that Juneau's growth has been the result of growing government, such intuition would be mistaken.
Throughout its history, Alaska has had a large number of nonresident workers employed in the state. These workers were required to meet the seasonal demands of resource based industries or to meet the needs associated with major project development. The fast paced growth of the early 1980s, particularly in the construction industry, served as a magnet for a large number of nonresident workers, but also served as an impetus for special Alaska resident hire preference legislation.
Most Alaskans are involved in the Leisure & Hospitality sector of the economy in one of two ways: either they are employed in it, or they patronize its hotels, health clubs, bingo parlors, ski resorts, performing arts, or restaurants. In 2002, the Leisure & Hospitability sector generated nearly 30,000 jobs in Alaska, which amounted to ten percent of the wage and salary workforce. (See Exhibit 1.) More than a billion dollars is spent every year in Alaska on its varied offerings.
Alaska's economy has always relied upon its rich natural resources. From the days of the Treadwell mine and the later Klondike gold rush to the development of the Prudhoe Bay oil fields, many Alaskans have earned their living by extracting Alaska's mineral wealth. Many others have been employed cutting timber and harvesting seafood.
Construction activity is often regarded as an economic bellwether. Its performance is a billboard for consumer confidence particularly the residential and commercial building sector. Changes in the level of construction activity often signal a change in the economic climate of an area, state or nation. Because of this, the industry's performance often serves as a barometer of future economic wellbeing.
Oil has played central roles in Alaska's economy and psyche since 1957, when the Kenai fields were discovered. The economic implications of this find were important in the statehood movement and Alaska's admission to the Union. In 1968, the discovery of the massive Prudhoe Bay field ushered in a new era of prosperity for Alaska. The jobs directly created by the oil industry have never been great in number, but they remain some of the most sought after in the state's labor market.
On September 5, 2000, the Marine Stewardship Council certified Alaska's statewide commercial salmon fisheries program as well managed and sustainable. Alaska's was the only salmon fishery in the world to meet the council's rigorous environmental standards and earn this distinction. Yet even as Alaska's preeminence in biological management was being recognized, Alaska's salmon fishermen had fallen on hard times.
Alaska's economy is highly seasonal, compared to states in more southern latitudes. In the cold of winter, industries such as construction, seafood processing, and tourism shift into lower gear. Yet, to answer questions such as: What portion of Alaska's economy is seasonal? and Which occupations are seasonal? is no simple task.