The Alaska Department of Labor and Workforce Development reports that June’s job numbers were up 2.5% over June 2021, which marks an increase of 7,900 jobs but still 20,100 below June 2019’s pre-pandemic level.
Over-the-year growth was strongest in leisure and hospitality sector at 10.7%, but at 38,200 total jobs, the industry remained well below June 2019’s numbers of 42,800. Some sectors of the state’s economy did recover to pre-pandemic levels, which includes construction, wholesale trade, health care and the federal government.
Other industries still considerably below their June 2019 levels include oil and gas, which was 2,700 below; transportation, warehousing and utilities was 2,100 below; retail trade 1,400 below, state government 1,400 below, and local government 5,700 below June 2019’s levels. The Department of Labor reports that local government’s number was artificially low, however, because of slight timing differences between school years (i.e. whether jobs end in May or June), but they state that the reality of the situation is that local government employment was about 2,000 below pre-pandemic levels.
Across the Kenai Peninsula Borough, the unemployment rate was 5.1% in June, up slightly from 4.9% in May 2022, but down from 7.2% last June. The state’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate was 4.6% in June, unchanged from May’s revised rate while the comparable U.S. rate was 3.6%.