Daily Archives: August 10, 2011

The Alaska Dispatch today carries a story on the North Slope employment study commissioned by the Senate Finance Committee last week.   According to the story, the study is to analyze “North Slope oil field hiring practices in an effort to figure out whether it’s true that the coveted jobs are not going to Alaskans and why.”

The study may produce interesting data, but the story raises a concern about how at least one Senator intends to use the data the study produces.  The article reports that the study and related hearings that Senator Dennis Egan (D-Juneau) plans on holding are  “aimed at getting oil industry officials and workers to shed light on the existing situation [the apparent underemployment of Alaska workers on the North Slope] and how it can be improved. Otherwise, it makes no sense for the state to give away state money when it is getting no new jobs in return, he said.” Continue reading →