Oil, budgets, migration, and retirees: Alaska’s 2015–18 recession

Alaska experienced a local recession from March 2015 to April 2018. Falling oil prices combined with the state government’s dependence on oil revenue contributed to job losses throughout the economy. Unemployment did not increase mainly because Alaska’s population is aging rapidly and leaving the labor force through retirement. The national economic expansion from 2009 to 2020 was the longest recorded in the history of the United States. The unemployment rate fell dramatically, and real gross domestic product (GDP) steadily increased. However, many petroleum-producing states experienced local recessions during this period because of declining oil prices. One of these states was Alaska, which was in a recession from March 2015 to April 2018. This article explores the dynamics, causes, and results of this recession. The first section of this article explores the trends of employment and GDP in Alaska during the recession. Employment dropped 4 percent overall and 30 percent in mining and logging, which is mainly oil and gas.