Economy

Three cruise ships are docked along Juneau’s waterfront on the evening on May 10, 2023, as a Princess cruise ship on the right is departing the capital city. A “banner” year for tourism in 2023, when a record 1.65 million cruise passengers visited the state, lifted workers’ average wages in the Southeast region, the state Department of Labor and Workforce Development reported. (Yereth Rosen/Alaska Beacon)

Wages for Alaska workers are up, but total jobs remain lower than pre-pandemic levels

The average hourly wage in Alaska was $33.60 in 2023, putting the state in 11th place among all 50 states and the District of Columbia,… Continue reading

 

A map shows projected population changes in Alaska between 2023 and 2050. (Alaska Department of Labor and Workforce Development, Research and Analysis Section)

Southeast Alaska’s population expected drop 17% by 2050, by far the most statewide

State expects to lose 15,000 residents, 12,000 of them from Southeast, according to report.

 

Pie charts published in the “Southeast Alaska by the Numbers 2024” report released Tuesday show jobs and earnings by industry in Southeast Alaska in 2023. Among the notable discrepancies are tourism with 18% of jobs and 13% of wages, while mining provided 2% of jobs and 5% of wages. (Rain Coast Data)

Study: Southeast tourism thrives, seafood suffers during record year in 2023 for both industries

Largest seafood harvest in a decade results in less income due to low prices, annual study finds.

 

A student exits the University of Alaska Anchorage consortium library on Friday. Alaska now has had 12 years of net outmigration, with more people leaving the state than moving in, contrary to past history when Alaska drew large numbers of young adults. (Yereth Rosen/Alaska Beacon)

With Alaska outmigration continuing, community members contemplate responses

Two-day meeting at UAA gave attendees from different sectors a chance to brainstorm solutions.

A student exits the University of Alaska Anchorage consortium library on Friday. Alaska now has had 12 years of net outmigration, with more people leaving the state than moving in, contrary to past history when Alaska drew large numbers of young adults. (Yereth Rosen/Alaska Beacon)
Meilani Schijvens (center), owner of Rain Coast Data, talks with attendees at a Juneau Chamber of Commerce luncheon on Thursday before presenting results from an annual economic survey by her company. (Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Empire)

Survey: Optimism of Southeast Alaska businesses down this year, but still second-highest since 2010

Tourism leaders most optimistic in Juneau, seafood industry most pessimistic, annual report states.

Meilani Schijvens (center), owner of Rain Coast Data, talks with attendees at a Juneau Chamber of Commerce luncheon on Thursday before presenting results from an annual economic survey by her company. (Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Empire)
Attendees at the Southeast Conference Mid-Session Summit listen to a live video speech by U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, at Elizabeth Peratrovich Hall on Tuesday. (Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Empire)

Report: Juneau second-best summer job place in U.S. for youths — in part because there are fewer of them

Update of annual Southeast Alaska economic report features other contrasting up-and-down trends

Attendees at the Southeast Conference Mid-Session Summit listen to a live video speech by U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, at Elizabeth Peratrovich Hall on Tuesday. (Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Empire)
Brian Holst, executive director of the Juneau Economic Development Council, presents findings from JEDC’s annual economic indicators report during a Greater Juneau Chamber of Commerce luncheon Thursday at the Juneau Moose Family Center. (Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Empire)

Juneau’s aging population and low fertility rates raise concerns about declining future

Annual JEDC report also shows growing income gap, plus high housing and healthcare costs.

Brian Holst, executive director of the Juneau Economic Development Council, presents findings from JEDC’s annual economic indicators report during a Greater Juneau Chamber of Commerce luncheon Thursday at the Juneau Moose Family Center. (Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Empire)
A chart shows the change in employment by community between 2021 and 2022. (Source: Alaska Department of Labor and Workforce Development)

Southeast Alaska gets first ‘A’ in annual economic report

Study finds strong rebound in region’s jobs and wages continuing into 2023

A chart shows the change in employment by community between 2021 and 2022. (Source: Alaska Department of Labor and Workforce Development)
Clarise Larson / Juneau Empire A gas pump at Petro One gas station off Egan Drive shows prices on Friday that, at about $4.90 a gallon for regular unleaded, are lower than peaks earlier this year but still far above the national average. The price of Alaska North Slope crude oil dropped to $74.22 a barrel on Wednesday, far below the $87 the state needs to average to break even for the fiscal year, however, consumers have cause for good cheer as nationwide gas prices are now cheaper than a year ago, dropping about one-third from their $5 a gallon average.

Oil hits lowest price of ’22 a week before state budget is due

$74.22 a barrel far below $87 break-even price for FY23; governor mum on how drop may affect FY24

Clarise Larson / Juneau Empire A gas pump at Petro One gas station off Egan Drive shows prices on Friday that, at about $4.90 a gallon for regular unleaded, are lower than peaks earlier this year but still far above the national average. The price of Alaska North Slope crude oil dropped to $74.22 a barrel on Wednesday, far below the $87 the state needs to average to break even for the fiscal year, however, consumers have cause for good cheer as nationwide gas prices are now cheaper than a year ago, dropping about one-third from their $5 a gallon average.
A man shops at a supermarket on Wednesday, July 27, 2022, in New York. An inflation gauge that is closely tracked by the Federal Reserve, Friday, July 29, jumped 6.8% in June from a year ago, the biggest increase in four decades, and leaving Americans with no relief from surging costs. (AP Photo /Andres Kudacki)

Hints of cooling prices, but Fed vows firm inflation stance

The Fed appears ready to continue efforts to ensure prices are moving in the right direction

A man shops at a supermarket on Wednesday, July 27, 2022, in New York. An inflation gauge that is closely tracked by the Federal Reserve, Friday, July 29, jumped 6.8% in June from a year ago, the biggest increase in four decades, and leaving Americans with no relief from surging costs. (AP Photo /Andres Kudacki)
Hiring signs in the windows of businesses in downtown Juneau on Monday, April 18, 2022. Over a million passengers are expected to arrive aboard large cruise ships this summer, and local business say its been a challenge finding enough workers. (Peter Segall / Juneau Empire)

Cruise ships are returning to Juneau, will seasonal workers?

Businesses cite disruption, housing in challenging hiring market.

Hiring signs in the windows of businesses in downtown Juneau on Monday, April 18, 2022. Over a million passengers are expected to arrive aboard large cruise ships this summer, and local business say its been a challenge finding enough workers. (Peter Segall / Juneau Empire)
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Study: PFD increases spending on kids among low-income families

More research needed.

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The entrance to the Mendenhall Glacier Recreation Area in the Tongass National Forest was covered in snow on Friday, Nov. 19, 2021, a day after federal authorities announced the next step in restoring the 2001 Roadless Rule on the forest. (Peter Segall / Juneau Empire)

Feds put freeze on Roadless Rule rollback

On the Roadless Rule again.

The entrance to the Mendenhall Glacier Recreation Area in the Tongass National Forest was covered in snow on Friday, Nov. 19, 2021, a day after federal authorities announced the next step in restoring the 2001 Roadless Rule on the forest. (Peter Segall / Juneau Empire)
The last cruise ship of the year, the Norwegian Encore, sails out of Juneau on Wednesday, Oct., 20, 2021, ending a cruise ship season that almost didn't happen. According to the Juneau's Docks and Harbor's department, the Encore brought more than 2,000 passengers Wednesday, far below an average year. (Peter Segall / Juneau Empire)

Final cruise ship of 2021 leaves Juneau

A limited season winds down.

The last cruise ship of the year, the Norwegian Encore, sails out of Juneau on Wednesday, Oct., 20, 2021, ending a cruise ship season that almost didn't happen. According to the Juneau's Docks and Harbor's department, the Encore brought more than 2,000 passengers Wednesday, far below an average year. (Peter Segall / Juneau Empire)
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Alaska’s minimum wage to remain unchanged in 2022

$1 more than the federal wage.

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A plane lands at Juneau International Airport on May 25, 2021, as the number of travelers in the state started to rise after the lockdowns of 2020. Travel numbers are not back up to their pre-pandemic levels, but they are increasing according to local travel authorities. (Peter Segall / Juneau Empire file)

After steep decline, transportation numbers are slowly taking off again

Passengers are coming back by boat, plane and bus, but not yet at pre-pandemic numbers.

A plane lands at Juneau International Airport on May 25, 2021, as the number of travelers in the state started to rise after the lockdowns of 2020. Travel numbers are not back up to their pre-pandemic levels, but they are increasing according to local travel authorities. (Peter Segall / Juneau Empire file)
Chum salmon, like the kind seen here as a man examines the fish ladder at the Douglas Island Pink and Chum Inc. hatchery on Channel Drive on Wednesday, July 21, 2021, have had lower returns this year according to Alaska Department of Fish and Game biologists, even as fisheries in Bristol Bay are breaking records. (Peter Segall / Juneau Empire)

Salmon returns set records in Bristol Bay while Southeast runs struggle

Prices are up all around.

Chum salmon, like the kind seen here as a man examines the fish ladder at the Douglas Island Pink and Chum Inc. hatchery on Channel Drive on Wednesday, July 21, 2021, have had lower returns this year according to Alaska Department of Fish and Game biologists, even as fisheries in Bristol Bay are breaking records. (Peter Segall / Juneau Empire)
Peter Segall / Juneau Empire File Coeur Alaska will likely be able to expand their facilities at the Kensington Gold Mine including the Tailing Treatment Facility, seen here in this October 2019 photo, after the U.S. Forest Service announced it intends to approve the company’s proposal to extend the mine’s life by 10 years. Operations were expected to end in 2023 under a plan approved in 2005.

Forest Service set to approve Kensington expansion

Objections period is open.

Peter Segall / Juneau Empire File Coeur Alaska will likely be able to expand their facilities at the Kensington Gold Mine including the Tailing Treatment Facility, seen here in this October 2019 photo, after the U.S. Forest Service announced it intends to approve the company’s proposal to extend the mine’s life by 10 years. Operations were expected to end in 2023 under a plan approved in 2005.
Survey shows Southeast business owners at odds with Dunleavy budget

Survey shows Southeast business owners at odds with Dunleavy budget

The survey spans the region.

Survey shows Southeast business owners at odds with Dunleavy budget
Myrna Gardner, tribal partnership specialist for the U.S. Census Bureau, said Alaska’s low census response rate is costing the state millions every year during a presentation at Southeast Housing Summit, Thursday, March 14, 2019. *Ben Hohenstatt | Juneau Empire)

Low census response loses Alaska billions of dollars

Money left on the table.

Myrna Gardner, tribal partnership specialist for the U.S. Census Bureau, said Alaska’s low census response rate is costing the state millions every year during a presentation at Southeast Housing Summit, Thursday, March 14, 2019. *Ben Hohenstatt | Juneau Empire)