Alaska's unemployment rate remains steady

JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) – The unemployment rate in Alaska is holding steady.

The state Department of Labor on Friday says the state’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate was 6.4 percent in October, and that’s unchanged from September.

The department says a release that the comparable national unemployment rate was 5.0 percent.

State labor officials say the unadjusted rate increased from 5.7 percent in September to 6.1 percent last month, a normal uptick as seasonal jobs like those in the tourism industry see a slow down in the winter months.

The northern regions of Alaska, stretching from Nome to the Northwest Arctic and the North Slope boroughs, had a slightly lower unemployment rate for October mainly because there are not that many seasonal jobs.

But the largest rate increase was in tourism-dependent Skagway, where the unemployment rate jumped from 4.3 percent to 15.8 percent.