Alaska

As of July 7, 2022, Alaska had reported 2,250 COVID-19 cases per 100,000 people over the previous seven days, which ranks Alaska second-highest in the nation. Since the start of the pandemic, Alaska has reported 264,237 total cases to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). That’s 36,120 cases per 100,000 people, which ranks Alaska second-highest in the nation for total cases.

As of July 7, 2022, Alaska had reported 1,178,111 vaccine doses administered to the CDC. That’s 161,044 doses per 100,000 people, which ranks Alaska 33rd-highest in the nation.

At the start of the pandemic, Governor Mike Dunleavy issued a stay-at-home order. It began on March 28, 2020 and lasted 27 days, making it the sixth-shortest shutdown in the nation. Over the summer, Governor Dunleavy alternately ordered and relaxed restrictions as cases increased and decreased. In November, after a rise in cases, the governor issued a public health disaster emergency declaration that allowed local communities to restrict intrastate travel. In February 2021, the declaration expired and Governor Dunleavy replaced restrictions with recommended “health advisories.” The state is now fully “reopened.” This paragraph was last updated on October 1, 2021. For the more information, please see the New York Times.

Alaska’s private employment is down 10,600 jobs, or 4.2 percent, since January 2020. According to the latest Bureau of Labor Statistics data release, the mining and logging industry experienced the greatest percentage decline in employment across the state, reporting 17.9 percent (2,400) fewer jobs since January. The largest total number of jobs lost was 4,900 (13.6 percent) in the leisure and hospitality sector.

The pandemic’s economic downturn had notably disparate effects on different workers, industries, and racial groups. For example, the accommodation and food services industry was hit particularly hard and unemployment rates were typically higher for Black and Latino Americans. Learn more about the variations in Alaska’s finances, economics, demographics, and politics on it’s state fiscal brief page.

Alaska’s Budget Actions

Governor Dunleavy released his FY 2023 budget proposal in December 2021 and gave his state of the state address in January 2022.

Alaska enacted its FY 2022 budget in July 2021. The enacted budget included $10.3 billion in total spending and $4.3 billion in general fund spending. According to the governor, compared to the previously enacted budget, total spending decreased 22.5 percent and general fund spending declined 5.6 percent.

Under the American Rescue Plan, Alaska will receive $1 billion in direct state fiscal aid and $195 million in local government aid from the federal government. As of January 2022, Alaska had spent part of its state ARP funds on revenue replacement, public health programs, and economic development.

According to NASBO, Alaska’s recent expenditure totals (general fund spending/total spending, including federal transfers) were:

Alaska’s total state tax revenue collections from the second quarter of calendar year 2020 to the first quarter of 2021 (combined) were 39.3 percent lower than over the previous (combined) four quarters. State tax revenue changes varied significantly across the states during this period, ranging from a 39.3 percent decline in Alaska to a 12.3 percent increase in Idaho. Overall, 18 states of 50 states reported lower revenue collections over that period in than the prior four quarters (download the state tax revenue data here).

Alaska has not yet reported data for fiscal year 2020. (Alaska’s fiscal year, like most state fiscal years, runs from July to June.) Most states experienced revenue declines in fiscal year 2020. A state’s tax revenue might be up, down, or steady depending on the prevalence of the novel coronavirus, the state’s major economic sectors, and its revenue structure, among other things. Additionally, while all states moved tax deadlines during the pandemic, different states reported this ‘shifted’ revenue in different quarters and fiscal years. This might also affect a state’s reported revenue growth.

Learn how to access and download state revenue collections data and revenue forecasting data for every state at the State and Local Finance Initiative’s data subscription page.

From January 2020 to May 2022, Alaska lost 1,700 state and local public jobs, a 2.7 percent decline.