Alaska Department of Labor and Workforce Developme : (01-22-2016) - Unemployment rate at 6.5 percent in December

URpressrelease_116.indd

January 22, 2016 No. 16-03

For more information: Neal Fried, Economist

907-269-4861, [e-mail]

Unemployment rate at 6.5 percent in December

JUNEAU, Alaska- Alaska's seasonally adjusted unem- ployment rate was 6.5 percent in December, essentially unchanged from November's 6.4 percent. The comparable national rate was 5.0 percent.

Alaska's seasonally adjusted rate showed no clear trend in 2015, consistent with other economic indicators that sug- gest last year's economy was relatively fl at.

The not-seasonally adjusted rate was 6.6 percent in De- cember, up from November's 6.4 percent. December was the fi rst month in 2015 that the unadjusted rate was higher than the same month in the previous year.

Around the state, jobless rates were fl at or rose from No- vember to December in 27 out of 29 boroughs and census areas, which is typical for the time of year. The largest in- crease was in the Denali Borough, where the rate climbed

2.2 percentage points, followed by the Haines Borough and Aleutians West Census Area, where rates climbed 2.0 percentage points. The highest rate was in Skagway at

22.6 percent, followed by Kusilvak Census Area at 20.6 percent.

The Juneau and North Slope boroughs were tied for the lowest rate in December, at 4.7 percent. The rate in An- chorage was also low at 4.9 percent.

For detailed employment estimates, see http://live.laborstats.alaska.gov/ ces/. The estimates are preliminary and subject to potentially large revi- sions.

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Unemployment Rates, Alaska and U.S.

January 2005 to December 2015

12%

Seasonally adjusted

10%

U.S.

8%

Alaska

6%

4%

2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015

Unemployment Rates, Seasonally Adjusted

12/15	11/15	12/14
Alaska	6.5%	6.4%	6.4%
U.S.	5.0%	5.0%	5.6%

Sources: Alaska Department of Labor and Workforce Development, Research and Analysis Section; and U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics

Labor Force by Borough and Census Area, Not Seasonally Adjusted1

Unemployed Civilian Labor Force NumberRate

12/15P	11/15	12/14	12/15P	11/15	12/14	12/15P	11/15	12/14
Alaska	357,969	358,674	362,508	23,765	22,914	23,305	6.6	6.4	6.4
Anchorage/Mat-Su Region	206,490	204,888	206,927	11,579	11,238	10,872	5.6	5.5	5.3
Anchorage, Municipality	161,774	160,682	162,186	7,951	7,847	7,511	4.9	4.9	4.6
Matanuska-Susitna Borough	44,716	44,206	44,741	3,628	3,391	3,361	8.1	7.7	7.5
Gulf Coast Region	36,924	37,184	37,815	3,094	2,841	2,999	8.4	7.6	7.9
Kenai Peninsula Borough	26,844	26,858	27,348	2,258	2,112	2,138	8.4	7.9	7.8
Kodiak Island Borough	5,878	6,073	6,092	399	302	396	6.8	5.0	6.5
Valdez-Cordova Census Area	4,202	4,253	4,375	437	427	465	10.4	10.0	10.6
Interior Region	52,273	52,838	53,459	3,477	3,412	3,509	6.7	6.5	6.6
Denali Borough	576	552	565	112	95	109	19.4	17.2	19.3
Fairbanks North Star Borough	46,490	47,018	47,440	2,625	2,589	2,599	5.6	5.5	5.5
Southeast Fairbanks Census Area	2,752	2,789	2,849	317	311	343	11.5	11.2	12.0
Yukon-Koyukuk Census Area	2,455	2,479	2,605	423	417	458	17.2	16.8	17.6
Northern Region	11,005	11,181	11,762	1,043	1,061	1,069	9.5	9.5	9.1
Nome Census Area	3,941	4,062	4,367	425	417	443	10.8	10.3	10.1
North Slope Borough	4,242	4,278	4,331	201	242	212	4.7	5.7	4.9
Northwest Arctic Borough	2,822	2,841	3,064	417	402	414	14.8	14.1	13.5
Southeast Region	34,927	35,101	35,791	2,527	2,429	2,681	7.2	6.9	7.5
Haines Borough	892	937	912	118	105	116	13.2	11.2	12.7
Hoonah-Angoon Census Area	952	975	990	168	159	188	17.6	16.3	19.0
Juneau, City and Borough	16,615	16,744	16,873	788	784	849	4.7	4.7	5.0
Ketchikan Gateway Borough	6,435	6,415	6,710	484	481	518	7.5	7.5	7.7
Petersburg Borough	1,404	1,417	1,490	147	133	158	10.5	9.4	10.6
Prince of Wales-Hyder Census Area	2,763	2,655	2,771	345	324	367	12.5	12.2	13.2
Sitka, City and Borough	4,053	4,125	4,211	223	208	227	5.5	5.0	5.4
Skagway, Municipality	602	613	604	136	127	132	22.6	20.7	21.9
Wrangell, City and Borough	982	981	997	93	83	101	9.5	8.5	10.1
Yakutat, City and Borough	229	239	233	25	25	25	10.9	10.5	10.7
Southwest Region	16,354	17,484	16,755	2,049	1,934	2,177	12.5	11.1	13.0
Aleutians East Borough	1,363	1,540	1,399	85	79	91	6.2	5.1	6.5
Aleutians West Census Area	2,812	3,608	2,666	167	139	190	5.9	3.9	7.1
Bethel Census Area	7,005	7,111	7,289	944	891	1,005	13.5	12.5	13.8
Bristol Bay Borough	265	242	303	29	30	44	10.9	12.4	14.5
Dillingham Census Area	1,621	1,694	1,763	179	185	184	11.0	10.9	10.4
Kusilvak Census Area	2,776	2,748	2,808	573	535	585	20.6	19.5	20.8
Lake and Peninsula Borough	512	541	527	72	75	78	14.1	13.9	14.8

P = Preliminary. As more information becomes available, data are revised every month for the previous month and again at the end of every calendar year.

Note: The offi cial defi nition of unemployment excludes anyone who has not made an active attempt to fi nd work in the four-week period up to and including the week that includes the 12th of the reference month. Many in rural Alaska do not meet the defi nition because they have not conducted an active job search due to the scarcity of employment opportunities.

1Unemployment rates that are not seasonally adjusted should not be compared with those that are.

Source: Alaska Department of Labor and Workforce Development, Research and Analysis Section; and U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics