KMXT 100.1 FM Public Radio in Kodiak, Alaska
On Friday the State Labor Department released preliminary figures for unemployment across the state.
Statewide, unemployment rose incrementally in September over August, but is significantly higher than September a year ago. The rate stands at seven-point-seven percent, which represents 27,744 unemployed. That’s up from seven-point-one a month earlier. Last year, it was six-point-1 percent.
In the Kodiak Island Borough, 423 people, or six-point-six percent, were out of work in September. August’s unemployment rate was five-point-eight percent. A year ago September it was five-point-two percent.
Kodiak – and the state – continues to have a lower unemployment rate than the nation as a whole. The rate increased to nine-point-eight percent, up one-tenth of one percent over August. That’s up three-point-six percent from a year ago.
