Another year of growth.

• Author: Harrington, Susan
• Position: Editorial

In the January issue of Alaska Economic Trends, Alaska Department of Labor and Workforce Development Research &Analysis Section Economists Dan Robinson, Neal Fried, Alyssa Shanks and Mall Abrahamson forecast a 1.2 percent growth in 2012 Alaska employment--3,900 jobs. This is good news for Alaska businesses for the third consecutive year.

The largest area of growth is expected in the health care industry, a sector that saw an 8.3 percent increase from 2008 to 2010, according to the economists. Overall, they anticipate statewide growth to be fairly modest this year, with increases of 0.6 percent in Anchorage, 0.5 percent in Fairbanks and 0.4 percent in Southeast.

One important observation by the economists, "What Alaska has, the world needs," speaks to the importance of international trade to the state's economy. We focus on this very issue in a special section this month celebrating World Trade Center Alaska's 25th anniversary. In fact, 2011 turned out to be a record year for international trade when Alaska topped $5 billion in exports for the first time. That number would increase substantially if we built a natural gas pipeline and exported LNG.

What better way to move the economy along toward a bigger better Alaska than the intense infrastructure development of a natural gas pipeline? It's time for the Legislature to spend some quality time in Juneau and pass legislation essential for economic growth--instead of inaction--enact.

Getting back to international trade, what made up the more than $5 billion in exports last year? According to Governor Sean Parnell's office, "Alaska's seafood exports posted the largest year-to-year increase for this period: nearly 34 percent to $2.4 billion. Mineral ore exports rose 31.4 percent to $1.7 billion. The export of energy declined 6.6 percent to $348.3 million with the change at the Kenai liquefied natural gas plant. In...