West region · state data

Alaska unemployment rate and jobs

Alaska's unemployment rate was 4.3% in Sep 2026, 0.1 percentage points above the U.S. rate of 4.2%. That was down from 4.7% a year earlier.

Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (Local Area Unemployment Statistics and Current Employment Statistics) via FRED®. Monthly data, seasonally adjusted. Latest observation Sep 2026; snapshot taken Oct 27, 2026, 2:15 AM EDT.

Unemployment rate (Sep 2026)

4.3%

U.S. rate, same month

4.2%

Difference from U.S.

+0.1 pt

A year earlier

4.7%

Rank (1 = lowest rate)

34th of 51

Nonfarm jobs (Sep 2026)

340,700

Job growth, 12 months

+1.2%

Record low rate

3.9% (Aug 2022)

Unemployment rate: Alaska vs. the U.S.

4.3% Sep 2026 · Percent

Alaska unemployment rate U.S. unemployment rate

Percent of the labor force, seasonally adjusted. Alaska data from Jan 1976 to Sep 2026; the dashed line is the national rate (UNRATE).

How Alaska compares

In Sep 2026, Alaska had the 16th highest rate of the 51 states and DC (tied with Massachusetts, New York). Across the 13 states in the West region, the simple average was 4.1%, so Alaska was 0.2 points above it.

Since the state series began in 1976, Alaska's rate has ranged from a low of 3.9% in Aug 2022 to a high of 11.7% in May 2020. Just before the pandemic, in February 2020, it was 5.4%, 1.1 points higher than now. Over the last 12 months the rate averaged 4.6% and was above the national rate in 12 of them.

Jobs in Alaska

Employers in Alaska reported 340,700 nonfarm payroll jobs in Sep 2026, seasonally adjusted. That is 4,200 more than a year earlier (+1.2%), compared with +0.3% for the nation as a whole. Its 12-month job growth rate ranked 7th of 51. The record high was 341,000 in Aug 2026. Compared with February 2020, payrolls are up 3.4%.

340.7K Sep 2026 · Thousands of persons

Total nonfarm payroll jobs, thousands, seasonally adjusted, from the BLS survey of employers. Data from Jan 1990.

Last 12 months in Alaska
Month	Unemployment rate	U.S. rate	Nonfarm jobs	Monthly job change
Sep 2026	4.3%	4.2%	340,700	-300
Aug 2026	4.3%	4.1%	341,000	+200
Jul 2026	4.3%	4.1%	340,800	+600
Jun 2026	4.4%	4.2%	340,200	+700
May 2026	4.6%	4.3%	339,500	+1,900
Apr 2026	4.6%	4.3%	337,600	+900
Mar 2026	4.7%	4.3%	336,700	-400
Feb 2026	4.7%	4.4%	337,100	-100
Jan 2026	4.8%	4.3%	337,200	+300
Dec 2025	4.8%	4.4%	336,900	+300
Nov 2025	4.8%	4.5%	336,600	+100
Sep 2025	4.7%	4.4%	336,500	-900

Record high unemployment rate: 11.7% (May 2020). Monthly figures are revised each year when BLS benchmarks the state data.

States with similar unemployment rates

New Jersey · 4.2%Oklahoma · 4.2%Massachusetts · 4.3%New York · 4.3%

Other West states

Arizona California Colorado Hawaii Idaho Montana Nevada New Mexico Oregon Utah Washington Wyoming All 50 states and DC U.S. unemployment rate

This page shows public labor market data for general information. It is not financial or career advice and does not predict future values.

Sources

U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Unemployment Rate in Alaska [AKUR], retrieved from FRED, Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis; https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/AKUR, Oct 27, 2026.
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, All Employees: Total Nonfarm in Alaska [AKNA], retrieved from FRED, Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis; https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/AKNA, Oct 27, 2026.
View AKUR on FRED® · View AKNA on FRED® · BLS Local Area Unemployment Statistics · BLS State and Metro Area Employment

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