Juneau employment down in 2013 as government sector shed jobs

Juneau Federal Building
Juneau’s federal building in February 2010. The federal government shed nearly 70 civilian jobs in Juneau in 2013. (Creative Commons photo by Daniel Cornwall)

For the first time in three years, Juneau’s economy failed to add jobs in 2013. That’s according to the annual Juneau and Southeast Alaska Economic Indicators and Outlook report released Tuesday.

The Juneau Economic Development Council’s report says the capital city lost about 240 jobs last year, led by a 2.7 percent dip in government employment. Local and federal jobs accounted for most of the losses in the public sector. The City and Borough of Juneau, the Juneau School District and local tribal government job losses totaled more than 100 positions. Federal government civilian employment was down in the city by nearly 70 jobs.

Juneau’s private sector lost about 40 jobs last year. While the health care, natural resources and mining, transportation and warehousing, and social services industries were all down, those sectors saw increases in total payroll. According to the report, that indicates most of the job losses were lower paying or part-time positions.

Looking forward, JEDC projects no major disruptions to the Juneau or Southeast Alaska economies. Population growth is expected to be slow and the tourism industry will continue to rebound from the recent low year of 2010.

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