The first cruise ship of the 2022 season is scheduled to arrive in Skagway on April 26. But Skagway businesses are still struggling to figure out how many people they’ll need — or how to attract workers to Southeast Alaska in today’s tight labor market.
Royal Caribbean International’s Ovation of the Seas, a quantum-class cruise ship, in Skagway’s port.
Many owners have had to shutter their businesses to survive, and those that stayed open have operated with a reduced staff. Neal Fried is an economist with the Alaska Department of Labor’s research section. He says Alaska’s labor market is closely aligned with the national labor market, which is showing low unemployment numbers. He says it will be a challenge for businesses to attract seasonal workers who’ve found full-time work since the pandemic started.
“Our prices are going to have to go up, and that’s kind of scary as well because I think everyone in town is gonna see that,” Smith said. Meanwhile, some potential employees are seeing this season as a boon. Natasha Kraus worked as a tour guide for one season before the pandemic, then found other temporary jobs for the last two years. She says she spoke with half a dozen employers before settling on the same company she had worked with in 2019.
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