Anchorage oil jobs expected to stay flat in 2003, after dropping last year

Kristen Nelson, PNA editor-in-chief

The University of Alaska Anchorage’s Institute of Social and Economic Research expects petroleum sector jobs in Anchorage to remain flat in 2003. (See related story on page 1.)

In a report prepared for the Anchorage Economic Development Corp., ISER’s Scott Goldsmith said volatility in the petroleum sector — which includes a very small mining industry — is reflected in the loss of 400 Anchorage jobs in 2002, after a gain of 300 jobs in 2001.

Some 2,600 petroleum sector jobs represent 2 percent of Anchorage jobs. That number is expected to stay flat, the report said, because there are no large-scale development projects under way. Drivers in this sector include oil price, investment climate and cost containment. ISER’s “what to watch” list in this sector includes: Legislature, Congress and Iraq.

Gunnar Knapp, professor of economics at ISER, presenting the report to a 960-person AEDC audience Jan. 15, said the Anchorage economy is expected to grow slowly in 2003, adding some 1,750 jobs, an increase of just over 1 percent in the area’s job base of some 130,000.

The report had been prepared showing an increase of 1,950 jobs in Anchorage in 2003, Knapp noted, and then Kmart announced it was closing its Alaska stores, including two in Anchorage. It’s a reminder, he said, that the local economy can be significantly effected by decisions made elsewhere.