Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport: Economic Significance 2000

Abstract

Employment at the Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport in 2000 is estimated at 9,119 ( annual average), generating an annual payroll of $367 million. This represents about 7% of all the wage and salary jobs in Anchorage and 8% of total payroll. Adding the offsite jobs generated by airport businesses making purchases and workers spending their earnings within the community, the total economic significance of the airport grows to 14,750 jobs with a payroll of $515 million. If the airp01i were a separate community it would be the 5th largest economy in the state. The airport is about 5 times the size one would expect for a community of 260 thousand, but only partly because most of the travel between Anchorage and the rest of the US is by air. Most of the activity at the airport is associated with international air cargo, nonAlaska visitors, and non-Anchorage residents of Alaska. Together these activities at the airport, which bring new money into the economy and contribute directly to the economic base of Anchorage, account for 6,443 jobs and $259 million of payroll. Adding the off site activity generated by these onsite jobs results in a total impact of these basic activities of 10,352 jobs and $361 million of payroll. By way of comparison, the headquarters activity of the oil and gas industry in Anchorage directly employed 3,515 in 1999 with a payroll of $316 million. Viewed this way it is clear that the basic activities at the airport are an important part of the economic base of the community.