Anchorage was recently named #3 in "Best Mid-Sized Cities For Jobs" on Forbes.com. In the overall ranking Anchorage still does well being ranked #18 in the "Best Cities For Jobs List."
The list created by Michael Shires of Pepperdine University and Joel Kotkin, Forbes weekly columnist and presidential fellow in urban futures at Chapman University ranked metropolitan areas based on Bureau of Labor Statistics data. The full article and more information on the methodology can be found here.
Anchorage was named as a best city for Jobs in a March 10, 2010 article on Forbes.com.
According to a recent survey from the employment services firm Manpower. Anchorage, Alaska, and Burlington, Vt., tie for the top spot, with a net of 22% of surveyed employers there expecting to hire between April and June.Out-of-the-way Anchorage, population 260,000, benefits from its role as a cargo hub for the rest of North America. Anchorage International Airport is one of the world's largest "cargo through-put" airports, a refueling and cargo transfer stop for planes traveling between the Pacific Rim and North America. FedEx ( FDX - news - people ) and United Parcel Service ( UPS - news - people ) are major local employers; the airport accounts for 18,000 jobs.
On Tuesday March 2, AEDC along with Anchorage Chamber of Commerce, Anchorage Convention & Visitors Bureau, Anchorage Downtown Partnership and the Chugiak/Eagle River Chamber of Commerce launched Anchorage First, a campaign targeting Alaska’s quietest retail months. The campaign is meant to build consumer confidence and provide a boost to the local economy. National consumer confidence index figures released last week show a steep decline posting its lowest level since April 2009.
“Local consumers are watching the national headlines and taking it to heart,” said Bill Popp, president/ CEO of Anchorage Economic Development Corporation. “Saving is prudent, but a little confidence will make a big difference in our local economy and workforce.”
Campaign organizers are encouraging local residents to invest in the community by shopping locally, instead of online or out of state. If each Anchorage household with an income of $50,000 or more were to spend as little as $50 a month locally, for the next three months, campaign organizers believe the local economy would benefit from an injection of as much as $10 million.
The Municipality of Anchorage is responding to Google’s bid to be selected as a test city for an ultra high-speed broadband network with a local campaign encouraging residents to take action. The campaign, Googifi Anchorage, is a local collaborative of city officials, businesses, information technology and marketing professionals and community volunteers hoping to boost Anchorage’s chance of being selected.
The campaign directs Anchorage residents to its Web site, GoogifiAK.com, where they may “click” to vote for the city, upload video testimonials and sign a petition of support. The theme of Anchorage’s campaign is “Will Work for Bandwidth,” and people submitting video online are encouraged to address the questions “What are you working for?” or “What would you do with more bandwidth?” A sample video is provided on the Web site featuring the mayor and campaign supporters discussing why they will work for bandwidth.
