Alaska's February Unemployment Rate
Sets Record Low
Ketchikan's Unemployment
11.4%, Up From January's 11.0%
March 16, 2002
Saturday 8:40 am
Alaska's unemployment rate fell
to 7.3% in February, a decrease of two tenths of a percentage
point from January.
The 7.3% rate is the lowest
ever recorded in February and well below the year-ago rate of
8.1%. The comparable national unemployment rate was 6.1%.
The number of unemployed Alaskans
decreased by 581 in February to 23,675, a decline of 2.4% from
January and 8% less than a year ago. Not since 1990 has the state's
number of unemployed persons been so low in the month of February.
Initial claims for unemployment
benefits dropped by almost 3,000, a 28.6% decline from January.
With 7,432 initial claims filed in February, the state is slightly
above the year-ago level of 6,940.
Most areas of the state saw
small decreases in their unemployment rates, though Anchorage's
rate increased from 4.8% to 4.9%. Ketchikan's rate also increased
from 11.0% to 11.4%.
The Aleutians East Borough
recorded the lowest rate in the state for February at 3.0% and
the Yukon-Koyukuk Census Area had the highest at 18.4%.
Areas with smaller populations
are more likely to see dramatic month-to-month changes in their
rates, since a single event such as the opening of a fishery
or a seasonal layoff can affect a large
segment of the area labor force. Both the Aleutians East Borough,
which saw a rate change from 6.5% to 3.0% from January to February,
and the Yukon-Koyukuk Census Area, which saw an increase over
the same period from 17.2% to 18.4%, are examples.
Alaska has added 4,500 jobs since February 2001, a relatively
modest growth rate of 1.6%. According to Dan Robinson, a labor
economist with the Alaska Department of Labor and Workforce Development,
"The shrinking number of unemployed Alaskans will have plenty
of job opportunities in the coming months."
Ketchikan, Alaska
|
Labor Force |
Unemployment |
Rate |
Employment |
| 02/02 |
01/02 |
02/01 |
02/02 |
01/02 |
02/01 |
02/02 |
01/02 |
02/01 |
02/02 |
01/02 |
02/01 |
| 7,352 |
7.287 |
7,111 |
835 |
802 |
739 |
11.4% |
11.0% |
10.4% |
6,517 |
6,485 |
6,372 |
Related Information:
Labor Force by Region and Census Area
- February 2002 Report
Source of News Release:
The Department of Labor and
Workforce Development
Web Site
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