Anchorage: Best Places to Find A Job for 2009
U.S. News & World Report, working with Onboard Informatics, has included Anchorage on their annual list “Best Places to Find A Job for 2009″ out of 2,000 cities in all parts of the country. According to U.S. News, Anchorage has weathered the recessionary job market and come out with below-average unemployment rates, has seen job growth since 2000, and is large enough to offer job seekers opportunities in a broad sweep of industries.
As the largest city in an isolated, sparsely populated state, Anchorage residents account for almost half of the total personal income in Alaska, according to the Anchorage Economic Development Corp. This is a young city, where the median age is just about 33, and payrolls continue to grow. Last year, in the depths of the recession, Anchorage officials proudly marked their city’s 20th consecutive year of job growth.
For one thing, the city’s expansive energy industry helped insulate it from much of the recession. Also, the housing market has not experienced the nation’s highs and lows. “I think that we’ve suffered a little bit, just like everyone else has, just not to the same degree,” says Pauline Hofseth, a real estate licensee in Anchorage. Today, moderately priced homes seem to be “flying off the market,” Hofseth says.
While the city’s crucial tourism and shipping industries have been bruised by the recession, jobs have been added in education and health services, and in government, which represents 20 percent of the city’s jobs. Retailers also continue to move into Anchorage: Target, Kohl’s, Lowe’s, Best Buy, and the Sports Authority have opened new stores.
Click here to read the full story.
