Government employment in Alaska: a shrinking giant.

• Author: Davidson, Paul
• Position: ALASKA TRENDS

Government employment plays a big role in Alaska. Between 2001 and 2012 about one in four people working in Alaska had government jobs. The proportion of government jobs to total jobs is much higher in Alaska than the United States as a whole. According to data from the federal Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. government jobs make up 16.21 percent of total U.S. employment for the period 2002 to 2011. Government jobs make up 26.27 percent of Alaska employment according to the State of Alaska for the same period.

The State of Alaska Department of Labor and Workforce Development's Research and Analysis Division publishes local, state and Federal government employment data. The chart shows a peak in federal employment in 1993 without much subsequent growth...