Workers in Alaska did better than inflation between 2012-2021

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Wage increases in Alaska exceeded inflation for the decade between 2012 and 2021.

Alaska’s consumer price index for urban Alaska rose 15.2%, according to the Department of Labor, while average wages grew a remarkable 24%, from $50,097 to $62,123.

That adds up to a real gain of 7.7%, after price level changes are taken into account. Only during two years — 2013 and 2017 — did wage growth fail to keep pace with inflation.

The Department of Labor warns that high inflation in 2022 could gobble up some of those gains. The urban Alaska CPI rose 8.1% in 2022. Wage data for the full year aren’t yet available, but wage growth would have to accelerate rapidly to keep pace with inflation that high, the department said.

11 COMMENTS

  1. Then why are help wanted signs posted at nearly every business? Everything is just fine. Just no entry level employees available to non union business. At any wage.

  2. Thank you for the (bitter) laugh, Suzanne!
    .
    I don’t know from which grossly lying Department of Labor (state or federal) this Orwellian bit of propaganda came from, but for anyone to dare try to claim that the cost of living rose ONLY 15% in the nine years between 2012 and 2021 is to reflect a serious removal from reality, and/or weapons grade-level of dishonesty; most likely both.

  3. Not all of us did better, that is a fact. If you were in business for yourself, it has turned into a real job getting material and freight cost is a disaster.

  4. And how about that 30% pay cut I took when a certain north slope entity decided every company needed to cut their cost basis, I make what I did in 2008….

    Everone I talk to in the lower 48 are making much more than we do here in Alaska yet we have the higher cost of living!

  5. Suzanne, these are the smoke-and-mirrors govt figures… Essential consumables like food and energy are up more than 30% in Fairbanks and worse in the villages ($15.00/gallon unleaded gas anyone?). As for those “help wanted” signs… there is a horrible combination of too much govt hand-outs and businesses who won’t keep their entry-level wages current with inflation. There are plenty of people – they just won’t work for less than what they are getting for nothing.

  6. All these numbers brought to you by the Dept.of Redundancy Dept.
    What is truly remarkable is how well the whole country did during the short span between mid 2016 to mid 2020. Then everything just fell flat on its face……. So weird, like some kind of an anomaly or something.

  7. People became lazy!!! Wages went up with hopes worker’s would come back. Look at all the businesses that have shut down!

  8. Nothing a world war won’t straighten out. Entitled dead beat non work force.

    Work and make your own way. The horror of it. I might get tired or a blister.

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