March Alaska Economic Trends

March Trends explains the labor force participation rate – how it’s measured, what causes it to go up or down, and what it can say about the economy. Though labor force participation is down in Alaska and the U.S. as a whole over the past decade, much of the change is due to a shift in the population’s age structure – that is, mainly due to an aging population. Trends also looks at how participation rates differ among age groups and by gender.

Also in the issue is a profile of the Yukon-Koyukuk Census Area and a look at “home-grown workers,” or those who lived in Alaska at some point as kids. The article examines the jobs and earnings of a specific group of PFD applicants and compares their paths to those who first moved to Alaska as adults.