The resilience of Alaska's construction industry.

• Author: Viray, Khristian
• Position: ALASKA TRENDS

The construction industry is inherently more volatile than other sectors, as building activity of all sorts booms and busts with the economic winds. With state budget concerns and a slowdown in the oil and gas sector, some retrenchment in construction should be expected; indeed, June 2016 saw construction employment down by one thousand jobs compared to June 2015, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Overall, the Alaska Department of Labor and Workforce Development expects the construction industry to lose nine hundred jobs in 2016. In 2015, construction employment peaked early in July with twenty-one thousand employees. In the years 2014 and 2013, peak employment did not occur until August and there were approximately five hundred more employees compared to 2015's peak. With the construction season still underway, the peak figures for 2016 are not yet known.

However, the situation could be worse, and the state's construction firms have a stabilizing force: transportation projects and funding. According to Alaska Department of Transportation and Public Facilities (DOT&PF) figures, 2015 was a record-setting year for Southcentral Alaska alone with more than $300 million spent on transportation projects. This year, more than $1 billion is being spent on transportation-related construction statewide; specifically $705 million is committed to highways and road projects. DOT&PF road construction, which is funded predominantly through federal funds and a state match (typically 90 percent federal and 10 percent state), offers a steady flow of...