State labor economist Neal Fried told the Juneau Empire that Alaska is the envy of much of the country with an unemployment rate that dropped to 7.7 percent in July -- nearly two points below the national rate of 9.5 percent.
Alaska's boom-and-bust economy typically posts much higher unemployment rates than the national economy, Fried said.
"This is the first time we've ever seen a (year) of the unemployment rate coming in below the national average," he said.
Fried says many of Alaska's industries have been largely immune to the recession, which has hit the manufacturing and construction sectors hardest.
In Alaska, fishing, oil, government and mining have helped the state weather the downturn much better than the rest of the country.
"When you look at what makes our economy tick, it's largely different than the national average," Fried said.
The housing market bubble that burst with the recession hit hard across the nation, but Alaska's real estate industry never soared to the heights of some others and therefore had less room to fall, Fried said.
"Our real estate market was better in 2007 or 2008 than it is today, but while ours slowed, we haven't had the balloon pop that others have had," Fried said.
High oil prices have also benefited Alaska, providing strong employment in the industry.
Other states where oil is an important economic driver, such as North Dakota and Texas, are also doing at least somewhat better than the national average, Fried said.
The federal government also provides a large number of jobs in Alaska, another source of stability.
"Government jobs tend not to have the volatility of other sectors of the economy," Fried said.
He said the mining industry has been booming too, noting that Kensington Mine opened near Juneau with the price of gold at about $1,200 an ounce.
"In some ways, that's an industry that's thriving because of uncertainty in the world economy," Fried said.
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