Business/Economy

Anchorage unemployment slips to 4.9 percent in July, report says

After more than two years of seeking full-time, well-paid employment, Kathy Smith is feeling less than optimistic. Smith suffered a medical catastrophe in 2000. She has since recovered, but re-entering the Anchorage workforce has proven near impossible for the 61-year-old licensed dental hygienist. Smith is one of the 7,692 residents looking for a job, and her story illuminates the struggle many Alaskans face to make ends meet.

But according to an economic research and development corporation, the unemployment rate in Alaska's largest city continues to sink. July's rate is 4.9 percent, a low reached several times this year.

The unemployment rate in Anchorage fell from 5.3 percent last month to 4.9 percent in July, according to a report by the Anchorage Economic Development Corp. The decrease is typical for July and marks the beginning of what is usually a downward trend in the city's unemployment rate each year. The four-tenths percentage drop is significant, however, said AEDC president Bill Popp.

"It's a sign that the Anchorage economy is very healthy right now. The city is pretty much at full employment ... The rate is heading in a direction that is well below the low unemployment we were seeing in 2006, 2007 before the recession," Popp said.

July serves as a kind of high mark for yearly employment, as amped up tourism, construction and other seasonal industries bring droves of people from outside the city of about 300,000. The month's rate also sets the trend for the remainder of the year and is a good indicator of where the annual rate will be. Popp said that's because the momentum from summer generally carries into fall. For instance, construction workers who work long hours before snow blankets the ground, spend their money when the days get short -- which in turn keeps the local service industries near full capacity.

The average year-to-date, seasonally adjusted unemployment rate in Anchorage for July was 5 percent, down eight-tenths of a percent from the last year's average, which translates to a reduction of 1,243 people among the ranks of the unemployed, according to the report.

If the trend continues -- historically, it drops another seven- to eight-tenths of a percent though the end of the year, Popp said -- Anchorage's rate could be as low as 4.5 percent by October. In 2006, the average yearly unemployment was also 4.9 percent, the last time the city reached that level. In 1998, the average yearly rate was 4.3 percent.

ADVERTISEMENT

The low rate is creating new challenges for local employers, Popp added. The problems are anecdotal, but the corporation's member companies report some trouble finding qualified workers in various fields. Some openings aren't even drawing applicants, he said.

Engineering, retail, tourism and healthcare jobs in Anchorage totaled 143,200 for July, pushing the year-to-date average up by 400. The healthcare industry, in particular, is going strong with 471 more jobs than last year. The Alaska Department of Labor says this industry has the highest growth potential in the state for the next decade.

Occasional work

The picture is not so rosy for all Anchorage residents seeking jobs. Smith has worked in her field, dental hygiene, for more than 30 years. The last 13 have been a struggle, however.

In 2000, doctors told her she was suffering from osteomalacia. Smith had been taking Vitamin D, partially because she worked in offices without windows lacking direct sunlight. The problem is if someone takes too much of the fat-soluble vitamin, it can turn toxic. Consequently, her bones got soft. She couldn't work anymore.

Then, in 2004 after years of recovery, she decided it was time to find work. She's been looking for more than two years.

She still finds occasional work. Smith put herself on the Alaska Dental Society's list for local hygienists looking for work. But the jobs are part-time. Infrequently, she'll work for one to three days a week, then she'll go three weeks with no work. The pay earned for her infrequent work sessions does not provide enough to make a living.

There's another list through the Dental Hygiene Association she can get on, but job seekers have to pay upwards of $200 a year to keep their name on it. She doesn't have the money.

Smith also doesn't have the money to pay for her home of 13 years. She's putting it on the market, she said.

Full-time jobs seem out of the question at this point. She faces a number of hurdles. Dentist offices used many different computer systems, and they do not seem to have the patience to teach her. At 61, she is a senior citizen, and younger dental hygienists are on the prowl for employment, too. She's applied for office jobs but gets turned down. Why? Employers tell her she's overqualified, she said.

"I'm not feeling too good right now," she said. "I'm basically looking for a cardboard box to live in. If I can't get a paying job. I'll have to work for free; go on a mission. I have no family to fall back on."

Goods and gas

Jobs are popping up, though. The private sector has grown by more than 2,000 jobs this year alone. However, government employment has declined by 800 jobs so far, with losses evenly split between federal and local education sectors.

Federal job cuts are due to sequestration while the Anchorage School District's decision to do away with summer school likely accounts for the drop in the education sector, Popp said.

Fewer federal government jobs may not be such a bad thing, he said. People are switching to the service industry. Jobs in the leisure and hospitality sector are growing steadily. And both the accommodation and food-service sectors are growing, which suggest a healthy tourism industry, according to the report.

According to AEDC, the oil and gas sector is leading the pack in the category of jobs that produce goods, with 400 more jobs than last year at this point -- a growth rate of nearly 13 percent.

Contact Jerzy Shedlock at jerzy(at)alaskadispatch.com

Jerzy Shedlock

Jerzy Shedlock is a former reporter for Alaska Dispatch News. He left the ADN in 2017.

ADVERTISEMENT