• While overall employment in the State of Alaska increased 15.17% between 1997 and 2002, employment within the construction industry rose by 51.32%, creating 7,243 new construction jobs as well as creating 325 new construction establishments in 5 years.

• According to the U.S. Census Bureau, there were 14,114 individuals employed in the construction industry in Alaska in 1997 and 21,357 in 2002, an increase of 51.32% in 5 years. 

• While the average worker in Alaska brought home $36,579 in pay in 2002, the state’s construction workers made on average $43,941, an increase of 16.76% more than the average worker in Alaska. 

• Construction employees in Alaska made $43,941 on average in 2002, compared to $35,352, the national average salary in 2002 for construction workers across the United States.

• The number of businesses in Alaska grew from 14,948 in 1997 to 15,554 in 2002, an increase of 4.05%.  Construction establishments in Alaska however, increased by 15.98% from 2,034 in 1997 to 2,359 in 2002.

• Of the 606 new businesses established between 1997 and 2002 in Alaska, 325 or 53.63% of those establishments were in the construction industry. 

• According to Union Membership and Coverage Database, available at www.unionstats.com, in 2006, only 32.5 percent of Alaska’s private construction workforce belonged to a construction trade union.  That means that approximately 68 out of 100 Alaska’s private construction workers do not belong to a labor union.

Data are from the U.S. Bureau of the Census except where noted.

• The dollar threshold amount for contract coverage under state prevailing wage laws in Alaska is $2,000.