Alaska career numbers down in December amid ongoing pandemic

JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) — Alaska experienced 24,100 much less positions in December than a 12 months previously amid ongoing economic repercussions from the COVID-19 pandemic, the condition labor office reported Friday.

Karinne Wiebold, a section economist, explained there usually are not lots of shiny spots to glean from the December work report.
“One doable glimmer is that we imagine oil and gas employment has bottomed out, so although the year above yr losses are nevertheless steep, it must not get much even worse,” she explained by e mail.
That sector noted about 6,800 positions in both equally November and December, but the division said there is no sign nonetheless of a “bounce.” Oil and gasoline work stood all-around 10,000 in December 2019, the section claimed.
Leisure and hospitality recorded the greatest losses, with substantially of the December drop attributed to bar and restaurant constraints in Anchorage aimed at curbing the unfold of the coronavirus, the department stated. The sector experienced 8,600 fewer employment than in December 2019, in accordance to the labor division report.
Condition authorities received 500 work opportunities in December, in contrast to a yr before, largely due to pandemic-linked hires, these kinds of as speak to tracers and extra team to enable procedure unemployment insurance statements, the section explained.