Alaska's unemployment rate jumped to 8.9 percent last month as the state recorded its sixth straight month of job losses.

State labor officials said Thursday that the unemployment rate rose 0.6 percentage points over the September rate. And in the last two months, the rate increased by 0.8 points. By contrast, the U.S. rate was 10.2 percent in October, and it had risen 0.5 percentage points in two months.

State officials say Alaska lost 16,000 jobs last month compared with September as summer seafood processing, construction and tourism jobs ended.

Labor economists also closely monitor the number of workers on employers' payrolls compared with a year earlier -- a key indicator of whether the economy is growing or shrinking.

In October, Alaska employers had 3,000 fewer jobs than a year earlier. That's the sixth straight month of declines, showing the U.S. recession has arrived in Alaska. The biggest losses were in the construction, retail and food service trades. However, health care jobs have increased by about 1,400 positions over the last year.

ADVERTISEMENT