The Bethel census area encompasses a 41,087 square mile area in western Alaska, nearly the size of the state of Ohio. Two types of landscapes predominate. In the southwest lies the vast Yukon-Kuskowim delta region, commonly referred to as the Y-K delta. In this lower section the Kuskokwim River flows southwest and effectively divides the Y-K delta region into a western and eastern half.
After many years of steady, rapid climb, Providence Health System in Alaska grabbed the top spot on the Trends 100 list in 2001. With a workforce of 3,369, it is now Alaska's largest private sector employer (See Exhibit 1.) Providence's ascendance was anticipated a number of years ago, but was temporarily delayed when Safeway bought Carrs. Ten years ago Providence had a workforce of 1,824.
Around the water cooler and in serious circles, Alaska's cost of living has ever been a major source of conversation. Much lore and myth surround the cost of things in Alaska. Although the cost-of-living differential between Alaska and elsewhere in the nation has narrowed, it remains a topic of intense interest, ranking among the most requested economic data. This article is intended to satisfy most of these data needs.
It is not just your imagination that eating places appear to be popping up literally everywhere these days in gas stations, schools, airports, hotels, stores, along with those ubiquitous coffee shacks, and your actual stand-alone fast food eateries, bars, and sit-down restaurants. The eating and drinking industry is mushrooming across the nation.
ndustries relying on natural resource development and extraction and those selling Alaska's beauty drive Alaska's labor force. Oil and gas, seafood, and tourism employ a significant share of the state's workforce. In recent years, Alaska's economy has better weathered the storms associated with high and low oil prices, fluctuating fish harvests, and fickle tourists than it did thirty years ago. Today, while the health of resource-based industries still heavily influences the workforce, the state has a more diversified economy.
Year 2001 marked the thirteenth consecutive year of job growth in Alaska, the second longest period of expansion in the state's history. It was another good year for the oil industry, which recorded its second straight year of growth, adding another 1,000 jobs in 2001 after contributing 900 jobs to the state's economy in the year 2000. Construction was also strong, but the biggest portion of 2001's job growth was once again in the services sector.
Ever since the purchase of Alaska from Russia in 1867, the federal government has been a heavy weight on Alaska's economic scene, and this is still true today.
Manufacturing was once the industrial heart of America. The steel mills of Pittsburgh and the automobile factories of Detroit attracted large numbers of immigrants to high paying jobs?
The aging of Alaska's labor force has been well documented in Alaska Economic Trends and other sources. Alaska's population and economic trends of the past thirty years will have an impact on the state's economy for years to come. This article will review how Alaska's labor force became what it is today, and take a look at what might happen in the future.
Alaska's senior population is one of the fastest growing in the nation?