Business/Economy

Too soon to know if marijuana will boost Anchorage jobs

Job growth in the hospitality and health-care industries won't be enough to stave off job losses in other sectors in Anchorage in 2016, according to a report released Thursday by the Alaska Department of Labor and Workforce Development.

The city is likely to lose 1,200 jobs this year — a slight decrease of 0.8 percent compared to 2015 — and it's too early to be able to tell if the marijuana retail industry will soften that blow.

Anchorage's leisure and hospitality sector, which includes hotels, restaurants and bars, is expected to grow by 200 jobs in 2016, and health care is estimated to gain about 400 jobs.

Much like the statewide predictions the state's labor department issued Thursday, job losses in Anchorage will hit the sectors of oil and gas, construction and state government the hardest. Construction employment, which was up 4 percent in 2015, is expected to decline by 4.9 percent this year in the city.

The report also predicts about 100 jobs will be lost in the city's retail sector in 2016 because no major retail stores have announced plans to open this year. That number doesn't take into account possible new jobs in marijuana businesses.

Commercial marijuana "could provide a sizeable retail boost in 2016," the report said, but it's too soon to tell when or how many of those jobs might appear.

It's not clear when the first pot shops in the city will open, or what they will look like. Anchorage officials have been scrambling to draft local regulations before the application process for marijuana businesses opens up on Feb. 24.

Overall, Alaska is forecast to lose 2,500 jobs this year, or 0.7 percent compared to last year — the first annual statewide decrease since 2009 saw a drop due to the recession in the Lower 48.

Annie Zak

Annie Zak was a business reporter for the ADN between 2015 and 2019.

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