More companies are hiring nonresident workers to fill jobs in Alaska than in any time since 1990, according to statewide economic data.
Out of state workers are earning $3.8 billion, or 17.3%, of all wages paid in Alaska in 2024, the February issue of Alaska Trends, a publication of the Alaska Department of Labor and Workforce Development, stated.
The article forecasts that nonresident hiring is unlikely to ease in the coming years because the working-age decline stems from the state’s population getting older and more people leaving Alaska than moving in.
In 2024, there were 94,859 nonresidents working in Alaska, the highest number since data collection began.
While more out-of-state hiring was widespread, the largest increases were in the oil and gas and construction industries. Nonresident counts rose by 19.4% and 18.6% in those industries respectively, driven by increased activity on the North Slope, said Labor Department economist Rob Kreiger.
Alaska had 319,008 working residents in 2024, down a tenth of a percentage point from a year earlier, but slightly up from 2020, with the resident count remaining under its pre-pandemic level and well below the 2014 peak of 334,628 people.
Labor officials discussed the working-age decline in more detail in the March 2023 issue of Trends, identifying two primary reasons for the systemic decline.
The first was net migration loss from the number of people moving to Alaska in a given year minus the number of people leaving. The state’s net migration has been increasing for 13 straight years, Kreiger said.
The second reason is an aging population, a nationwide phenomenon. More people are leaving the workforce each year as they reach retirement age, and fewer are aging into their working years to replace them, the report said.
Demographers are now predicting this trajectory will reverse around 2030, with the working-age population in Alaska resuming growth slowly through the mid-2040s.
Employers have always had to hire outside the state for some positions, including those requiring specialized skills or experience, according to the report. But, some employers do look to teenagers and older Alaskans to fill some jobs.
In some cases employers try to entice older workers to stay on, with higher pay for hard-to-fill positions. In other circumstances people older than 65 keep working due to insufficient retirement funds or the need for supplemental income, the report said.
Trident Seafoods, which already had a high percentage of returning seasonal employees, said their company took steps in early 2023 to move to an almost exclusively domestic workforce in Alaska.
“Our domestic workforce strategy allows us to invest in and develop our people for long-term careers at Trident, including those in our Alaska processing plants,” said Stefanie Moreland, executive vice president of public policy for Trident.
She said the H-2B visa program – which allows American employers to hire from other countries for temporary, non-agricultural, seasonal or peak-load work – was limiting in some ways.
“The H-2B visa program limited employee progression in that companies were not able to promote people or change job descriptions once visas were granted,” Moreland said.
Trident’s processing facilities in Cordova focus on salmon, wild salmon oil, roe and minced fish. These facilities, including the Cordova North Plant, serve the Copper River and Prince William Sound fisheries.
The main incentive Trident offers is paying above minimum wage to ensure providing a living wage to all employees, including entry-level and seasonal workers, according to Moreland.
The company also has several initiatives aimed at early-and mid-career development. In 2022 Trident created a skilled trades training program to provide opportunity for Alaska residents by recruiting, training and retaining workers skilled in technical trades.
The four-year program provides on-the-job learning, mentorship, and technical training for every participant. To remove as many barriers as possible, Trident also fully funds the program – and trainees have a full ride to the Alaska Vocational Technical Center (AVTEC) and receive an hourly wage while enrolled in school, Moreland said.
Trident also provides participants with required tools, room and board, and travel. Graduates are considered for permanent jobs at Trident once they complete the program.
