Alaska's unemployment count fell in August as the labor force shrank

Alaska's unemployment count fell to 12,746 in August, down from 13,553 in July and below 13,723 a year earlier. That is not a series low: BLS puts it at 10,789 in August 2022 and 12,506 in August 2023.

Resident employment fell from 360,068 in July to 354,787 in August, and the civilian labor force fell from 373,621 to 367,533. So 807 fewer were counted unemployed, and 5,281 fewer were working.

The rate was 3.5 percent, versus 3.7 percent a year earlier. The BLS state release lists Alaska's seasonally adjusted August rate at 4.3 percent, unchanged, while the state labor department reports 3.5 percent not seasonally adjusted. Adjustment strips out the summer surge: Alaska has about 14 percent more payroll jobs in July than in January, so comparing August with January overstates improvement. All August figures are preliminary. The counts come from the Bureau of Labor Statistics Local Area Unemployment Statistics program.

The state's Sept. 18 release found 900 fewer jobs than a year earlier, as 1,700 public-sector losses, 1,300 federal, outweighed 800 private-sector gains.