Alaska unemployment rate unchanged in January

JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) - Alaska’s unemployment rate stood at 6.4 percent in January, which was unchanged from December.

The January figure was slightly below the national unemployment rate of 6.6 percent, which the state labor department said was the closest the two rates have been since late 2008.

The department says Alaska’s rate was close to its pre-recession levels while the U.S. rate remained higher.

The department says Alaska’s unemployment rate stabilized last year, while the national rate continued to trend lower.

Data revisions, done annually, resulted in Alaska’s seasonally adjusted rate being revised upward in nine of 12 months last year. The department said that reduced volatility in the original estimates and put the average monthly unemployment rate in 2013 at 6.5 percent, down from the average rate of 7 percent in 2012.