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.

Youth enter the workforce with limited skills and little previous employment experience. The experience and skills young workers develop on their first jobs can prepare them for a successful, long-term career. This article examines the numbers, occupations, employers, place of work, and wages of Alaska's working youth. Also discussed are how to go about looking for work and some of the qualities Alaska's employers seek.

Change is a fact of life, and a vital factor in the economy. With advances in technology, shifts in demographics, and improvements in business practices, the mix of occupations that make up the economy is constantly evolving, and so too must the training and skills of Alaska's workforce.

At the low point of the Great Depression in 1935, the United States adopted a number of policies designed to alleviate economic distress in the country. Among them was Unemployment Insurance (UI), instituted to mitigate the hardships of temporary unemployment and to introduce a degree of economic stabilization...

The health services industry is the fastest growing, and one of the larger sectors of Alaska's economy. It's a billion-dollar industry, and it employs about 22,000 people. It would be hard to find an industry in Alaska with a growth pattern as strong and sustained as that of health care.

Sitka is located on the outer coast of Baranof Island in central Southeast Alaska. Home to the Kiksadi clan of Tlingits, it was 'discovered' by the Vitus Bering expedition of 1741. In 1799, Alexander Baranof built a Russian-American Company...

The Matanuska-Susitina Borough has received a lot of attention in this past ten years for its rapid growth. In reality, it grew at an even faster rate during the prior three decades. During the most recent period, no other area of the state came close to the borough's track record of population and employment growth.

The everyday view of education focuses on the young and what they are learning in school. This article presents an historical perspective of Alaska's population and the changes in the educational profile of generations. Like tree rings, a population's education profile records the climate that affects it. When socio-economic conditions are favorable, educational levels tend to rise. When they are not, this growth is stunted.

Alaska has a higher proportion of its population living in rental housing than most states, ranking seventh in the U.S., according to Census 2000 figures. About 34 percent of Alaskans live in rental housing. Trends in the residential rental market are of interest to tenants, landlords, banks, developers, and public housing agencies.

Just seven years ago it looked as if the Delta region were about to lose most of its economic base with the planned closure of Fort Greely. In 1995 it was estimated that nearly half of the economic base in the Delta region was associated with the fort. It was thought that business tied to the Alaska and Richardson highways, the Trans- Alaska Pipeline, transfer payments and farming could sustain a limited amount of economic activity but it certainly would not fill the shoes the Army was about to leave.