KMXT 100.1 FM Public Radio in Kodiak, Alaska
The sharp fall in Kodiak’s unemployment numbers from December to January reflected the increase in local fishing activities as the first quarter’s ground fish seasons took off.
The January rate of 6.7 percent for the Kodiak Island Borough was nearly a full 5 points less than December’s 11.8 percent. This year’s January rate was identical to that of last year.
Translating those figures into real life, it means 330 fewer people were looking for work in January than in December.
Statewide, Alaska’s unemployment rate hit a nearly three-year low of 7.2 percent in January. That compares to the revised 7.4 percent unemployment rate in December.
The Aleutians East Borough, which includes False Pass, King Cove and Akutan had a huge drop in the jobless rate. At 11.8 percent, the January rate was less than half of the 25.6 percent recorded in December.
The 11.3 percent unemployment rate for the Bristol Bay Borough was up a few points from 8.6 percent in December, and rates were up slightly in Southeast Alaska’s small fishing communities where the regional rate rose from 8.0 percent in December to 8.7 percent in January.
