The statewide job count increased by 7,700 in 2024, according to a release from the State Department of Labor and Workforce Development late in December.

That 7,700 exceeds the department’s projection of 5,400 published in its “Alaska Economic Trends” in January of last year. It follows a gain of 6,000 in 2023, 6,400 in 2022 and 7,000 in 2021.

A regional breakdown of employment changes included with a press release from the department says that the Gulf Coast, which includes the Kenai Peninsula Borough, saw employment rates increase by 3.4% from November 2023 to November 2024. That’s compared to 3.1% in Anchorage and the Matanuska-Susitna region or 1.8% in Southeast. The Southwest region was the only area that didn’t see growth, instead declining by 0.6%.

The release says that the largest growth was reported in construction, followed by health care, while seafood processing, information and retail industries “continued their long-term declines.”

A jobs forecast included in the January 2025 edition of “Alaska Economic Trends” projects further growth for Alaska jobs, with an add of 5,300 expected. The report notes that Alaska’s job count in 2024 finally reached pre-pandemic levels, also that the state continues to face challenges stemming from a shortage of working age people, state budget issues, and “seafood industry tumult.”

A full slate of cruise ship passengers and advancement of infrastructure projects should be among drivers of economic and employment activity, it says.

For more information, visit labor.alaska.gov.

Reach reporter Jake Dye at jacob.dye@peninsulaclarion.com.