Oil employment down

Petroleum News Alaska Staff

Alaska Oil patch employment in 2002 is unlikely to match the growth of recent years, labor economist Dan Robinson of the Alaska Department of Labor and Workforce Development said in the department’s July issue of “Alaska Economic Trends.”

Employment in the sector, which stood at 10,100 in April 2001, is down 1,300 to 8,800 as of April 2002.

Robinson said part of the reason for the decrease is the completion in 2001 of the Alpine and Northstar projects. But, he said: “Workforce reductions and lower budgets for both exploration and capital expenditures will also keep oil numbers down for the short term at least.”

Overall, April employment estimates for the state are up 0.9 percent from April 2001, a gain of 2,400 jobs, led by state government employment, up 1,200, and local government, up 1,100.