JUNEAU, Alaska— The Alaska Department of Labor and Workforce Development will close the Eagle River Job Center on Friday, May 19th. Continuing reductions to the department’s budget, and specific cuts to leased space for job centers, necessitated the closure of the Eagle River Job Center. Eagle River job seekers and employers will have the option to access services at either the Anchorage Muldoon Job Center, the Anchorage Midtown Job Center, or the Mat-Su Job Center in Wasilla. Vocational rehabilitation services provided at the Eagle River Job Center will be available at the Division of Vocational Rehabilitation’s DeBarr Road location in Anchorage.
“We are in a difficult position where closing job centers is necessary because the department’s state funds have been cut by more than 33 percent since 2015,” said Labor Commissioner Heidi Drygas. “Without legislative action on a sustainable fiscal plan, more cuts to critical services are on the horizon.”
This is the fourth job center to close as part of the department’s efforts to reduce spending. In 2015, the department closed job centers in Barrow and Seward, which reduced annual spending by $316,000. The Kotzebue Job Center, which was closed in 2016, resulted in a savings of $166,000 annually. The closure of the Eagle River Job Center is expected to save approximately $130,000 each year.
In addition to the services offered at the Anchorage and Mat-Su job centers, job seekers can access online services through www.jobs.alaska.gov and file for Unemployment Insurance online through My Alaska. Employers can post job openings and recruitments online through the Alaska Labor Exchange system (ALEXsys). [xyz-ihs snippet=”Adsense-responsive”]
