TRENDS_may20 
Unemployment insurance claims in Alaska rose dramatically in March, along with the rest of the country — at least 70 residents of Sitka were receiving benefits by the end of the month.
The state Department of Labor and Workforce Development released its monthly edition of Trends on Monday afternoon (5-4-20).
The document points to March as “the first wave of new claims” by people who lost their jobs due to the earliest measures to curb COVID-19. Between March 7 and 14, 7,800 Alaskans opened new claims.
Alaska Gov. Mike Dunleavy declared a statewide emergency on March 11, and the following day Alaska reported its first positive case of coronavirus.
As a result, the next two weeks saw even higher numbers: with 13,800, then 14,600 laid-off workers filing claims.
That’s a total of 36,200 unemployment claims in Alaska in March, and two back-to-back weekly records. On average, a 722-percent jump in unemployment claims for the state, compared to 2019.
Hardest hit are workers in restaurants and bars, who account for about 30 percent of people who received unemployment benefits in the last week of March. They were followed by those in Social Assistance, hotels, and retail and wholesale.
Anchorage and the Mat-Su accounted for most of the claims paid by the end of March — about 62-percent. Southeast accounted for 10 percent of claims statewide, and of those Southeast claims paid in March, Sitka accounted for 18-percent, or 70 people.
Department of Labor data takes about a month to compile. The June edition of Trends will have information about new unemployment claims in April, along with continuing unemployment claims. It will also contain data about seasonal employment, although that data is trickier as many seasonal workers are non-resident, and not eligible for state unemployment benefits.
