Alaska Excursions

Alaska Excursions

Wide range of glorious day trips throughout Southcentral Alaska.

Iditarod 38

Photos and stories from the last great race.

Anchorage: 24°/38°/Sunny

Fairbanks: -4°/27°/Sunny

Juneau: 31°/42°/Showers

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Alaska's 8.8% unemployment rate is highest since 1992

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PDF: Alaska December unemployment statistics

More from Alaska

Alaska's 8.8% unemployment rate is highest since 1992

Alaska's unemployment rate hit 8.8 percent in December, up 2 percent since December 2008 and the highest since September 1992. It's still well below the national rate.

PDF: Alaska December unemployment statistics

Audit faults state spending on Ketchikan road to unbuilt bridge

A legislative audit requested by a supporter of the belittled "Bridge to Nowhere" in Ketchikan concludes the state should not have begun work on a new highway until knowing if the span would be built.

SLED DOG RACING

King wins Copper Basin 300

A lesson that Lance Mackey taught Jeff King two years ago at the end of the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race may have helped the 54-year-old Denali Park veteran capture his second Copper Basin 300 title -- 15 years after his first.

Forecast says loss of Alaska jobs is slowing down

Scientists go to extremes for Arctic research

Wanted, dead or alive: Frogs riding north on Christmas trees

Haines eagle foundation gets healthy donation

Russian musical kicks off film fest

UAF suspends cash-strapped Susan Butcher Institute

Holiday Train canceled

The Associated Press

JUNEAU -- Alaska's unemployment rate hit 8.8 percent last month, its highest level since September 1992. The rate was 6.8 percent in December 2008.

The state Labor Department cites several factors for the increase over the year, including job losses in the oil, construction, hospitality and leisure industries. It also attributes the rise in part to the growth in job seekers from other states coming to Alaska to find work.

The department says the state stayed below the national unemployment rate for 12 months, something it says hasn't happened since the early '80s, when the U.S. was going through a recession and Alaska was enjoying a boom.

The national unemployment rate in December was 10 percent.