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The number of Alaskans receiving unemployment benefits soared this past week following orders by state and local officials limiting access to restaurants, bars and other establishments in an effort to slow the spread of the coronavirus.
New unemployment insurance claims jumped six-fold in a matter of days, said Lennon Weller, an economist with the Alaska Department of Labor and Workforce Development.
The claims totaled 687 the week of March 8. In five days starting March 15, they hit 4,046.
Those levels were last seen during the financial crisis that caused the Great Recession more than a decade ago, Weller said.
It could get worse, he said.
“We’ll probably surpass that in the next two weeks,” he said. “The magnitude of the short-term job losses we face is maybe larger than anything we’ve ever faced before, at least for the next month or two.”
Emergency closures of businesses and borders have rocked the global economy as the virus has spread across the planet. Anchorage Mayor Ethan Berkowitz on Monday shut down dine-in service for food and drink at restaurants, and closed other establishments including theaters and gyms. Gov. Mike Dunleavy on Tuesday issued a similar, statewide order. And on Friday evening, Berkowitz issued a broader emergency order, effective 10 p.m. Sunday until March 31, closing many other businesses deemed non-essential.
Alaska’s unemployment rates had been at record lows in recent months, as the economy slowly recovered from the recession sparked by the plunge in oil prices that began in 2014.
Economists in Alaska now say the outlook is grim. But it’s hard to