Unemployment rates on the rise

The unemployment rate within the Kenai Peninsula Borough reached 8.1 percent during November as the expected seasonal slowdown took effect, according to the latest borough data.

"The gradually increasing unemployment is typical beginning each September due to seasonality of the Kenai Peninsula Borough economy," said economic analyst Jeanne Camp in a memo to the assembly.

The most recent figures available are through November 2007.

The November rate of unemployment was precisely the same as during November 2006. However, survey estimates show that the total labor force available during November 2007 was bigger than during the same month in the previous year.

Although the unemployment rates for the two Novembers were the same, unemployment for the first 11 months of 2007 averaged 7.7 percent, lower by .6 percent when compared to the first 11 months of 2006, Camp said. In terms of people, year-to-date through November 2007 there were 139 fewer people unemployed than during the same period in 2006.

"On a year-to-date basis, the number of employed persons was 227 more than during the same period in 2006," Camp said.

The total labor force in November was estimated at 24,678 workers, up 73 from the year before. Over the course of the first 11 months of 2007, the labor force increased 89 workers from the year before.

According to historical data, the size of the labor force in 2007 was on track to be the biggest since at least 1990. The year-to-date unemployment rate of 7.7 percent also appears to be the smallest since 1990. December figures are not yet available and could change the yearly outcomes.

Through November 2007, an estimated 23,617 borough residents held jobs.

Hal Spence can be reached at hspence@ptialaska.net.