On the mend.

• Position: Matanuska-Susitna Borough, Alaska - Alaska Business Briefs

On the Mend On the Mend. Job growth and a declining unemployment rate indicate the Matanuska-Susitna Borough is making strides toward economic recovery, according to a recent article in the state Department of Labor's September issue of Alaska Economic Trends. While evidence of the economic downswing still remains, the positive signs of recovery are becoming prevalent.

Job growth has been recorded since the third quarter of 1989, and unemployment has dropped steadily since 1987. The state's labor economists note, however, that because the Mat-Su economy is largely affected by statewide economic events, these indicators alone do not give a complete picture of economic recovery. One-third of borough residents hold wage and salary jobs in Anchorage or elsewhere in the state.

Other signs pointing to economic recovery of the Mat-Su Valley are a population increase in 1989, after two years of decline, and an all-time high for school enrollment at the beginning of the 1989-90 school year. New projects such as construction of the federal Job Corps Center, development of the Wishbone Hill coal mine and highway improvements are expected to sustain the...