Alaska's preliminary employment numbers were positive in October compared to the year before, with a statewide increase of about 2,000, the state Department of Labor reported on Friday.
Statewide there were about 333,000 jobs this October, up from 331,000 last year.
Anchorage and Mat-Su were the main beneficiaries of the apparent job bump, accounting for 1,300 of those jobs. The numbers are subject to revision as more information becomes available.
Fairbanks and the Interior gained slightly from last October. The Gulf Coast remained flat. The Northern, Southeast and Southwest regions all posted slight declines.
With low oil prices and questions about the state's fiscal policy creating economic uncertainty, economists and others have been watching employment closely because it is a key indicator of the health of Alaska's economy.
An October decline would have marked the first time employment slipped for three straight months since Alaska's most recent recession in 2009.