KMXT 100.1 FM Public Radio in Kodiak, Alaska
Kodiak’s unemployment rate in April dropped to 6 percent compared to this time last year. In April 2020, near the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, unemployment was at nearly 9 percent.
These new unemployment numbers were released last week by the Alaska Department of Labor.
According to the Department of Labor, these numbers are important because they mark the first comparisons economists can make against job losses recorded in the first full month of the pandemic a year ago.
Kodiak’s unemployment rate is now one of the lowest in the state, which has a statewide unemployment rate of 6.7%. Additionally, jobs across the state are up 7% over last April.
Kodiak also boasts the lowest unemployment in the Gulf Coast region, which includes the Kenai Peninsula Borough, Valdez, and Cordova.
