Kodiak Unemployment Rate Holds Steady

Kayla Desroches/KMXT

Unemployment rates in the Kodiak region have remained relatively stable since last year.

According to this month’s Alaska Economic Trends by the Alaska Department of Labor and Workforce Development, unemployment in Kodiak was roughly the same in both 2016 and 2017 at about 5 percent.

That’s just a little higher than the national average, and a little lower than the state’s 7 percent.

Alaska’s northern region has some of the highest unemployment rates.

That includes the Nome Census Area, the North Slope Borough, and the Northwest Arctic Borough. For the entire area, the unemployment was at about 13 percent in July.

As for average salary, the North Slope borough tops the list at roughly $58,000. The second highest average was almost $40,000 in the Southeast Fairbanks Census Area, and the Kodiak Island Borough is further down the list at about $27,000.

Also, while retail jobs are the most common throughout the state, mining, oil, and gas workers bring in the highest wage.

Young adults are also doing well, at least on paper.

According to Alaska Economic Trends, about 11 percent of adults 20-to-34 years old in the state are below the federal poverty line. The national average is 17 percent.