Alaska is one of two states with job growth

Cross posted at The Next Right

So reads the Anchorage Daily News headline today.

"[T]he Alaska unemployment rate, adjusted for seasonal factors, actually fell in April. Eight percent of the labor force was without work but looking in April, down from 8.4 percent in March. In April of last year, the unemployment rate was 6.6 percent.

"The state's unemployment rate has been lower than the U.S. rate for three straight months.

"'That's very, very, very unusual,'" said Neal Fried, a state labor economist.

"While Alaska's jobless rate was falling in April, the national rate was rising -- showing further effects of the recession. The national rate was 8.9 percent in April, compared with 8.5 percent in March and 5 percent in April last year."

Along with Governor Sarah Palin, the other state governor bucking the trend is Republican Governor John Hoeven of North Dakota.