Occupational estimates and projections for Alaska are developed every other year. Projections, which currently cover the 2018-2028 period, are widely used for planning and preparation of educational and training programs, developing career information and studying long-range trends in occupational employment. The projections process consists of four principal phases:
The base year of the forecast cycle. Base-year employment estimates are required to develop the employment projections and the base-year employment matrix.
The target, or ending, year of the forecast cycle. In order to produce target-year occupational projections, a change factor is developed and applied to each occupation. An occupational staffing pattern is then applied to the projected industry total of each occupation to give a target-year occupational projection.
The Alaska Department of Labor and Workforce Development publishes population estimates for Alaska places, boroughs, and census areas every year in January, as required by state law. Estimates have a July 1 reference date.
We use applications to the Permanent Fund Dividend program, official records of births and deaths, Census Bureau data, and results from our group quarters survey to calculate these estimates.
Wages for the OEWS survey are straight-time, gross pay, exclusive of premium pay. No distinction is made between union and nonunion wages. Base rate, cost-of-living allowances, guaranteed pay, hazardous-duty pay, incentive pay including commissions and production bonuses, tips, and on-call pay are included. Excluded are back pay, jury duty pay, overtime pay, severance pay, shift differentials, nonproduction bonuses, and tuition reimbursements.
The U.S. Census Bureau conducts the largest household survey in the United States, the American Community Survey (ACS). Each year, more than 12,000 addresses in Alaska are selected to respond to the ACS. The ACS replaced the decennial census long form nationwide after the 2000 Census.
The U.S. Census Bureau conducts more than 130 surveys each year, including the largest household survey in the United States, the American Community Survey (ACS). Each year, more than 12,000 addresses in Alaska are selected to respond to the ACS. Because the ACS is an ongoing survey, addresses are selected each and every month, including during the decennial census.
