Oil and gas industry set to add most jobs in state
PROUDLY OUTFITTING ALASKA’S WORKFORCE SINCE 1947
Labor Department says sector to add 1,000 to workforce Alaska is expected to have moder- ate statewide job growth this year, led by continued expansion in the oil and gas industry and the health care sec - tor, according to a new state forecast. The Alaska Department of Labor and Workforce Development’s 2026 jobs forecast predicts an addition- al 3,000 jobs, amounting to 0.9% growth in employment for the com - ing year. That is slightly lower than last year’s growth of 1.2%, according to the forecast. “Alaska’s economic drivers are mostly strong going into 2026,” said the statewide forecast, written by state labor economist Karinne Wie - bold and published in Alaska Eco- nomic Trends, the department’s monthly research magazine. By percentage, the oil and gas sec - tor is expected to be the state leader in job growth; the 1,000 new jobs ex - pected this year would amount to an 11.1% increase over 2025 total. Much of the expected growth is from Santos’ Pikka oil field, where construction is now completed and production is set to start this year. Additionally, there is a general up - swing in industry activity, the fore - cast said. Growth in the oil and gas industry is expected to bring job totals in that sector to an average of 10,000 for the year — still below the peak of 14,800 achieved in 2014 but about back to the level in 2019, the last year before the COVID-19 pandemic. Oil and gas employment fell to its lowest point in
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One of the major federally fund - ed projects that is poised to start this year is the Port of Nome expansion. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in August awarded a $399.4 million contract for the first phase of the project, a 1,200-foot causeway exten - sion with about 600 feet of new dock space. Further causeway and dock expansion, along with harbor deep- ening and other work, is planned in coming years. Another big federally funded con - struction project, the new bridge and road reconfiguration at the Pretty Rocks landslide area at the midway point of the 92-mile Denali National Park road, is nearing completion, the forecast points out. The transportation, warehousing and utilities sector, which is often re- lated to construction activity, is ex - pected to gain jobs, as well.
the pandemic year of 2021, at 6,700. Lower oil prices are not expect- ed to have much effect on job num - bers, Wiebold said by email. Since the COVID-19 pandemic, oil prices have fluctuated widely, even as production in Alaska has been fairly stable, she said. The health care sector is expected to add the biggest number of jobs in 2026. The anticipated 1,100 new jobs amount to a 2.5% increase from 2025, according to the forecast. Health care has been a perennial employment growth leader, in part because of needs created by the aging of Alaska’s population, Wiebold said. The construction sector is still expected to gain jobs, but not at the booming pace of the past two years. For four of the past five years, Alaska has received over $2 billion in feder - al capital funds, among the highest annual totals ever, the forecast ports out.
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