Economic Geography Study
This report investigates the economic linkages between Southwest Alaska and Southcentral Alaska (Kenai Peninsula Borough, Matanuska-Susitna Borough, and the Municipality of Anchorage), Other Alaska (the remainder of the state excluding Southwest and Southcentral Alaska), and Other U.S. States.
The seafood industry and government are the primary economic engines of Southwest Alaska. Fish processing generates the highest output (total sales) in the region and provides the majority of jobs in the region. Catcher-processors and motherships operating at sea represent the next largest sector of economic activity in the region. Together these two sectors generate more than $1.5 billion in total sales or output. State and local government represents about $240 million in total output in the region.
More than 38,000 people were estimated to work in Southwest Alaska at some time during 2002, whether in full-time jobs or part-time employment in the seafood processing and harvesting sectors. These individuals received about $751 million in earnings and income from employment and selfemployment in 2002. About 4,800 residents of Southcentral Alaska worked in the SWAMC region and received about $82 million in earnings and income. Southcentral residents represent about 13 percent of the total number of persons that worked in the region and they captured about 11 percent of the total employment earnings and self-employment income. In total, the Southwest Alaska
Households, businesses, and governments in Southwest Alaska purchased between $763 million and $776 million in goods and services from organizations in Southcentral Alaska, Other Alaska, and the rest of the United States. Purchases from Southcentral Alaska were estimated to range from $342 million to $365 million, or about 44 to 48 percent of total purchases that were made outside of the SWAMC region. Estimates of total purchases from all businesses and other organizations in the state in 2002 range from $418 million to $441 million.
The SWAMC region also generated about $43.2 million in selected tax revenues (primarily fish-related taxes and corporate income taxes) for the State of Alaska. About $12.4 million of the shared fish tax revenues are remitted back to the municipality in which they were collected. The $43.2 million in taxes paid by businesses in Southwest Alaska is about 21 percent of the total general fund unrestricted revenue, excluding oil and gas related revenues. These tax revenues are generated from a region with only 5 percent of the stateís population.
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