Net migration out of Alaska was higher last year than at any point in the past quarter-century, according to a report released Friday by the Alaska Department of Labor.
The report in Alaska Economic Trends stated that about 7,500 more people moved out of the state than came here in fiscal 2014. It’s the highest number of net departures Alaska has seen since 1987, when 19,245 people left amid a crushing in-state recession.
The most recent numbers, however, don’t appear to have much to do with Alaska’s statewide financial woes, said Department of Labor economist Neal Fried.
Instead, Fried attributed at least some of the pattern to improving employment opportunities in the Lower 48. People have historically come to Alaska when jobs are scarce in the rest of the U.S., and many leave when they’re easy to find elsewhere, he said.
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Alaska migration trends:
1970 — +8,040
1971 — +5,107
1972 — +4,533
1973 — +1,287
1974 — +6,320
1975 — +30,222
1976 — +19,576
1977 — +1,637
1978 — -13,414
1979 — -5,289
1980 — -1,629
1981 — +6,326
1982 — +20,992
1983 — +24,934
1984 — +14,526
1985 — +9,206
1986 — -3,646
1987 — -19,245
1988 — -15,710
1989 — -5,480
1990 — +4,637
1991 — +6,310
1992 — +8,138
1993 — +1,314
1994 — -4,840
1995 — -6,980
1996 — -3,741
1997 — -3,001
1998 — +145
1999 — -2,337
2000 — -927
2001 — -2,676
2002 — +2,196
2003 — +819
2004 — +2,948
2005 — +292
2006 — -56
2007 — -2,023
2008 — -1,111
2009 — +3,009
2010 — +8,347
2011 — +1,131
2012 — +1,113
2013 — -2,870
2014 — -7,488
Source: Alaska Department of Labor and Workforce Development
