Nearly 1,800 new jobs forcasted in 2003.

• Position: General

Anchorage will see the addition of almost 1,800 jobs this year, based on projections by Scott Goldsmith, ISER, University of Alaska Anchorage, which he prepared for the Anchorage Economic Development Corp. The 1,750 new jobs equate to a nearly 1.4 percent growth rate in employment for 2003.

"2003 will see a continuation of growth in the Anchorage economy, although at slightly slower rates than we saw in 2002. However, Anchorage will continue to outperform the U.S. economy in the coming year, so in that regard we've been fortunate," said Goldsmith, at AEDC's 2003 Annual Economic Forecast Luncheon recently at the Egan Civic and Convention Center.

Consistent with the trend of past years, the greatest increases will come in the services and finance sector, which is expected to add 1,200 jobs in the coming year. Construction will add 100 jobs and government, 200 jobs. Petroleum will be stable this...