Alaska Economic Update (Part 5)

Personal Income grew 3.8% in Alaska in 2015

One final update to the Economic Update, which is now available in the 'Resources Section'.

Statistics released in March from the Bureau of Economic Analysis show that total income earned in Alaska last year grew by $1.5 billion to a total of $41.3 billion. With a population of approximately 739,000 people, that equates to $55,940 per capita. This places Alaska 6th best out of the 50 states. The U.S. per capita income was $47,669. Therefore, Alaskans’ income was 17% higher than the national average.

2015 earned income from salaries and wages grew by $816 million or 3.1% in Alaska over 2014 totals. The second largest contribution to income was $450 million in growth from government transfer payments, up 7% over 2014. This is from year over year increases in non-earned income from the permanent fund dividend, Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, and unemployment benefits. The remainder of the 2015 earnings growth came from $254 million in higher dividends, interest, and rents from private investments, a 3.8% improvement for the year.

The sector that contributed the most to 2015 earnings growth was Construction (+$134 million), followed closely by Health Care (+$132 million). Other significant increases came from Accommodation and Food Services (+$65 million), State and Local Government (+$53 million) and Federal Civilian Government (+$50 million). The only sector, out of 24 categories tracked, to decline last year was Military, decreasing earnings by $40 million.

Read More: Alaska Economic Update (Part 4)

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