Alaska labor shortage (Anchorage: rentals, houses, school district)

[Arktikos]

This analysis claims there are approximately two jobs available for every single worker in the state.

Yikes! That's a problem. Possibly some businesses that would otherwise thrive will fail due to lack of workers.

I like the mention of baby boomers "aging out". Nice euphemism for dying.

Hey, that's me they're talking about.


https://www.kcaw.org/2023/10/17/alas...-of-workforce/

[Threestep2]

You get bombarded on job boards with adds for AK.

[Arktikos]

Anchorage municipality is shy 579 positions!

https://www.alaskasnewssource.com/20...ocument-shows/

[Arktikos]

This story is local to JNU but probably applies to many other towns in AK. https://www.ktoo.org/2023/11/22/june...g-people-away/

(Aging population, high cost of living keeping young people away.)

[cjs123]

Originally Posted by Arktikos

I like the mention of baby boomers "aging out". Nice euphemism for dying.

You think? I interpreted "aging out of the workforce" to mean retiring, not dying...though if you work until you drop...

(older worker here)

[Arktikos]

Originally Posted by cjs123

You think? I interpreted "aging out of the workforce" to mean retiring, not dying...though if you work until you drop...

(older worker here)

You're probably right, but it was the context that made me wonder where he was going with it.

“I think employers are going to have to work hard to hire and retain until the Baby Boomers are all the way aged-out and we find some new stability,”

How would there be some "new stability" with the balance of workers and demand for services without a smaller percentage of older people alive?

[terracore]

Originally Posted by Arktikos

This story is local to JNU but probably applies to many other towns in AK. https://www.ktoo.org/2023/11/22/june...g-people-away/

(Aging population, high cost of living keeping young people away.)

"That’s despite Juneau adding around 1,500 units over the last decade.

“Our population increased by, basically, zero,” Holst said. “So where did all the housing go?”

This Holst guy is quite the Einstein isn't he? Kids grow up and leave their parent's houses. The ones that don't move away need somewhere to live. That's where the housing went. Vacation rentals and second homes, etc doesn't account for that much housing. Eventually (years? decades?) the silver tsunami passes and the tide turns the other way if people don't move in to replace them.

I moved out of Juneau because the cost of living was on a trajectory that was pretty clear, and I'm glad I did because it actually became worse than what I was forecasting. The tax-and-spend local government was a big part of that, and from what I've read that has also become worse. And people keep voting for more of it.

[Arktikos]

From today’s Anchorage Daily news:

“The Anchorage School District is hoping to hire back retired teachers to help fill some of its hundreds of vacancies for the upcoming school year. It's the first time the school district has considered hiring retired teachers full time, according to Martin Lang, head of the district's human resources department”

Hundreds!

[Wytempest]

Best hope this doesn't get out. They'll be flooding AK with bidens illegals!

[ketchikanite]

Originally Posted by Wytempest

Best hope this doesn't get out. They'll be flooding AK with bidens illegals!

Let’s hope not.