Data: Job losses appear to be slowing across Alaska

JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) – Recent figures indicate Alaska’s unemployment rate improved slightly last month.

The Juneau Empire reports numbers from the Alaska Department of Labor and Workforce Development say the state’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate fell from 7.2 percent to 7.1 percent in June.

The slight improvement comes as Alaska reports the fewest number of June jobs since 2010.

The department’s figures say the state had 347,400 nonfarm jobs in June. That’s down 1,700 from June 2017 and down 11,400 from June 2015,

the start of a statewide oil-price-driven recession.

There was a decline of 6,100 jobs between June 2015 and June 2016. That decline dropped to 2,800 between June 2016 and June 2017.