Anchorage businesses are optimistic for the future, new report shows

AEDC president and CEO Jenna Wright addresses nan corporation’s yearly economical improvement luncheon successful Anchorage, Alaska connected Wednesday August 7, 2024. (Leigh Walden/Alaska Public Media)

Anchorage businesses are optimistic astir nan future, but uncovering workers remains a apical concern, according to caller survey results from nan Anchorage Economic Development Corp. 

AEDC’s latest Annual Business Confidence Index Report is based connected study responses from 150 Anchorage-area businesses and organizations.

This year’s composite scale decreased 2 points from past twelvemonth to 58.2, but it’s still supra nan 10-year average. At nan corporation’s yearly economical improvement luncheon Wednesday, AEDC president and CEO Jenna Wright said it’s a bully motion that businesses are excited astir doing business successful Anchorage.

“This makes sense, because we’ve sewage a batch to look guardant to,” Wright said. “Fantastic occupation maturation successful galore of our sectors, backstage and nationalist superior investments are being made crossed nan city, and transformative nationalist acquisition models we employed successful our precocious schools.”

But location are still concerns. According to nan survey, business owners opportunity nan apical barriers limiting business maturation are nan readiness of labor, affordable housing, nan information of nan authorities system and nan costs of labor. The study shows half of Alaska business owners expect nan system to amended successful 2024. That’s considerably much than nan 10-year mean of 40%.

Wright said Anchorage consumers are little optimistic which could beryllium attributed to outmigration and costly lodging costs.

“So acold this year, Anchorage consumers were successful neutral territory erstwhile considering their section system and individual financial situation, but are emotion markedly bleak astir their expectations for nan future,” she said.

Businesses classed nan impacts of homelessness arsenic nan apical rumor for nan Anchorage economy, followed by affordable lodging and attracting workforce from extracurricular Alaska. The mostly of responses favour a simplification to nan Permanent Fund dividend and authorities spending.