First National Bank Alaska : Alaska's Economy, Vol. 11, April 2023

Alaska job openings growth

Alaska ranks second in the country for job openings growth, with an increase of 1.6% since January 2022, according to Indeed. Hawaii had 8.1% more job openings

over the same period. In addition to Alaska and Hawaii, only North Dakota had positive growth in job postings. At the same time, openings have declined in other states. The places experiencing the sharpest decline in postings are those with a heavy tech-sector presence: Washington, Washington, D.C., Virginia, Massachusetts, Colorado, New Hampshire, Maryland and California. Washington state had the most tech sector job decline per capita, with a 31% decline in postings.

Inflation in services

Looking only at inflation in the price of services,

the urban Consumer Price Index for Alaska and the rest of the country are well above their pre-pandemic trend. Since the primary input to services is labor, the increase in service prices is closely linked to rising wages in service-producing industries. Service prices have increased by 12.6% in Alaska since the onset of the pandemic.

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Inflation in durable goods

After experiencing a sharp increase beginning in early

summer 2020, prices for durable goods (for example, cars, appliances, electronics, furniture, and sporting goods) have fallen recently, both in Alaska and the rest of the U.S. As people spent more time at home, their consumption shifted from services to goods, resulting in record product sales. This high sales volume puts pressure on international supply chains, adding further pressure to prices. Since the beginning of the pandemic, durable goods prices have risen about 15.7% in Alaska. As these pressures have eased considerably starting summer of 2022, prices have begun to decrease.

Inflation in non-durable goods

The price of non-durable goods (for example, food, cosmetics, cleaning products, medication,

clothing, packaging, and fuel) has risen about 14.6% in Alaska. Non-durable goods saw price reductions after the pandemic outbreak and as demand fell for things like gasoline. The sharp rebound in demand and supply issues around energy from Russia's invasion of Ukraine led to significant increases in energy prices last summer. However, energy prices have fallen since reducing the inflation component.