Visit Alaska

Alaska’s unemployment rate, which fell to 8% in April, might not suggest that the state has a great job market. But the state’s urban employers are hungry for educated, skilled workers. Alaska’s tourism industry has been hit but its military bases, hospitals, and oil industry have stayed strong.

“The probability of getting a job, depending on your qualifications, is probably relatively high here,” says Scott Goldsmith, professor of economics at the University of Alaska Anchorage. “We haven’t been negatively impacted as much as the rest of the country.”

Goldsmith said it’s possible that out-of-work Californians who have come to Alaska looking for opportunities might be responsible for pushing up the unemployment rate a bit.

“In some sense, it’s the end of the road,” Goldsmith said. “You tend to get two kinds of people [moving to Alaska]: people running away from something or people looking for something. That ‘something’ historically has been opportunity—and there’s still some of it here.”

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My husband and I visited for the first time 9 years ago. Now we live here due to Military purposes. We love it here and so do the kids. It’s a great place to visit. Hope you do too someday!

even on a cloudy, rainy/snowy day. Which is a good thing, since it’s a rain forest and they average more than 150 inches of rain a year there.

My brother is a great tour guide,

so we ate at all the best places,

shopped in the finest stores

listened to the grooviest music

talked to lots of fascinating people

and saw the awesomest of sights.

Ketchikan is the salmon capital of the world. The Salmon weren’t running in January, but I did manage a sighting (and a taste) of the famous fish.

The people in Ketchikan are warm (at heart) and friendly

and I can’t wait to visit again. Though next time, I think I’ll plan my visit for summer.

I saw it all.

My goal (besides visiting my brother), is to see a moose for MOOSE.

My younger brother had visited Alaska when he was in the Navy and he told me if I was going to visit one place, it should be Alaska. So off I went on a cruise from Vancouver, Canada through the Inside Passage visiting Ketchikan, Juneau and Skagway.

Extraordinary people and breathtaking scenery. Killer whales, bald eagles, grizzly bears and sea lions are all in sensational abundance and almost close enough to touch. Majestic mountains tower over the landscape while magnificent glaciers send ice mountains toppling into the sea.

If I had seen nothing else, the railway trip I took from Skagway to White Pass (the main mountain pass for the Klondike Gold Rush) was worth the trip.

I feel like I just scratched the surface of this gorgeous area. In due time, I must go back.

I hate Sarah Palin.

My aunt and uncle are there on a cruise, RIGHT NOW as I type this! I hope they are having a good time.

Oh it was an amazing week. Surrounded by absolutely amazing scenery and it wasn’t 100 degrees out either! Very great place.

I think Alaska is so beautiful, and I’ve always wanted to go there.