MEDICAID EXPANSION DRIVES ONE SECTOR
While most job categories are flat or down in Alaska, health care jobs have been a growth industry. The timing of this trend coincides with Gov. Bill Walker’s expansion of Medicaid to tens of thousands of Alaskans.
High paying resource jobs have been in rapid decline but federal funds have grown the health care sector sharply.
The State Department of Labor tracks employment categories and sorts them into “Strong, Moderate, and Low” columns that indicate how many jobs the State sees opening up in coming months and years.
Whether dental assistants or health care aides, health care jobs in Alaska are in the “Growth strong / Openings high” classification, and most of those jobs will be centered in Anchorage, the state’s health care capital.
One job that is in the “Growth strong, Openings moderate” category is in crop and greenhouse work, a nod to the growing marijuana industry.
Labor expects more than 129-300 jobs will materialize in each of these job titles during the next 10 years:
The entire list can be seen and sorted at the Alaska Department of Labor website.