Anchorage employment expected to make full recovery to pre-pandemic levels, but challenges remain

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (KTUU) - The Anchorage economy continues to improve according to Jenna Wright, President of the Anchorage Economic Development Corporation, but still faces some familiar challenges.

“We are going to see 3000 jobs added to the Anchorage economy, personal incomes are going to continue to rise, inflation’s going to stagnate,” Wright said. “But we are going to continue to struggle with people that we need to fill the roles here in Anchorage.”

The AEDC released its 2025 Anchorage Economic Forecast Report at a crowded luncheon on Wednesday that included Mayor Susanne LaFrance on the agenda. LaFrance said her administration is working on making Anchorage a better place to live, emphasizing public safety.

Investing in the city so that working-aged people want to move here and stay here is a critical part of strengthening the local economy, according to Wright. AEDC supports a sales tax for Anchorage where a portion of the revenues would be used to invest in quality-of-life projects.

“Our biggest challenge remains our population demographics,” she said. “We are finally stabilizing our population, but we continue to grow older and older, meaning that it is going to be harder for employees to find working-age adults to fill their positions.”

According to the report, working-age residents made up 69% of the Anchorage population in 2014, which has declined to just 65% in 2024.

But there are also bright spots. Both construction jobs and healthcare jobs grew more than anticipated in 2024 and Wright said those fields are expected to add hundreds of additional jobs in 2025. Oil industry jobs are also expected to grow as North Slope projects come online. The report says Anchorage employment is expected to make a full recovery to pre-pandemic levels in 2025.

In addition, the price of consumer goods has started to stabilize, and Wright said Anchorage residents have higher incomes.

“Personal incomes in Anchorage rose by 7.5 % last year, and what’s notable about that is that finally, it’s higher than inflation, meaning Anchorage households got a real increase in their income last year.”

Wright said overall she expects 2025 to be a good year for Anchorage, especially if it works to attract new talent. But not everyone feels the same.

AEDC is expected to release a consumer confidence survey next week that Wright said shows participants are feeling good about their finances, but not so optimistic about the future of the city.

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