The Year 2003 in Review

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.