Performance Details
Department of Labor and Workforce Development
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Mission
The mission of the Department of Labor and Workforce Development is to provide safe and legal working conditions and to advance opportunities for employment. AS 23.05.010
Core Services
- Protect Workers: Eliminate accidental injuries, fatalities, and occupational illnesses within the departmental jurisdiction.
- Workforce Development: Prepare Alaskans for Alaska's jobs.
- Income Replacement: Eligible Alaskans receive timely and accurate income replacement determinations and payments.
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Core Services | |||||
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ResultsPerformance Detail
| A: Result - Department Result |
| A1: Core Service - Protect Workers: Eliminate accidental injuries, fatalities, and occupational illnesses within the departmental jurisdiction. |
Target #2: A three percent reduction in the five-year moving average rate of workplace fatalities per 100,000 employees.
Five-Year Average Rate of Workplace Fatalities per 100,000 Employees (Did not achieve the three percent reduction target in FY2017)
Analysis of results and challenges: This statistic is calculated using workplace fatality reports submitted to the Alaska Occupational Safety and Health (AKOSH) section and employment statistics maintained by the department's Labor Market Information section. AKOSH was not able to achieve the three percent reduction target for FY2017 in the workplace fatality 5-year average. In FY2017, there were 330,208 employees and 4 fatalities, resulting in a 1.21 fatality rate. The FY2017 data caused a 7% increase to the 5-year average, bringing the average to .90. AKOSH will continue to work to reduce workplace fatalities through a combination of consultation and enforcement activities targeted on eliminating the most prevalent causes of fatalities in industries with high fatality rates. Related links:
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Target #3: A two percent per year reduction in the rate of workplace lost time injuries and illnesses per 100 employees.
Workplace Lost Time Injuries and Illnesses Rate per 100 Employees (Achieved the two percent reduction target in FY2017)
Analysis of results and challenges: Since FY2007, the Alaska Occupational Safety and Health program has reduced the workplace illness and injury rate by 52% by targeting consultation and enforcement efforts on the causes of illnesses and injuries in industries and employers with high incident rates. This effort has resulted in an ongoing reduction in rates. The five-year strategic plan that began in FY2014 concentrated on the construction, transportation, and seafood processing industries which have relatively high rates. Since FY2014, this plan has been effective in continuing to reduce the overall lost time injury and illness rates for Alaskan workers. In FY2017 the overall rate dropped by 13.22%, achieving the 2% yearly reduction goal. Through strategic targeting efforts such as these and with a focus on maintaining full staffing levels, AKOSH expects to see a continued drop in the overall rate. AKOSH obtains much of its injury and illness data from Workers’ Compensation insurance claims data. In 2014 Workers’ Compensation migrated to a new database and now has the capacity to reflect more accurate information about the committed claims using different claim type categorization and processing procedures. Related links:
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| A2: Core Service - Workforce Development: Prepare Alaskans for Alaska's jobs. |
Target #1: At least 95 percent of Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) and State Training and Employment Program (STEP) training completers enter employment.
Percent of Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act and State Training and Employment Program Training Completers Who Are Employed (did not meet the 95 percent target in FY2017)
Analysis of results and challenges: This measure indicates the ratio of participants that enter the workforce within two quarters of being exited from the programs and is based on the quarter ending 6/30/17 report submitted to the USDOL. This fiscal year-end report reflects calendar year data due to the two quarter lag in wage information. |
Target #2: At least 80% of Alaska Vocational Technical Center students complete long-term programs.
Percent of AVTEC Long-Term Program Students Who Graduate (exceeded the target of 80 percent in FY2017)
Analysis of results and challenges: The Council on Occupational Education (COE) has nationally accredited Alaska Vocational Technical Center (AVTEC) since 1997. The COE benchmark for measuring "students that complete long-term training programs" is established as the national average of more than 400 similar public post-secondary institutions. For each year from FY1999 to FY2016, AVTEC has consistently met or exceeded the COE benchmark. The COE benchmark for FY2016 will be published in December 2017. AVTEC started FY2016 with 48 students from the previous year and enrolled 301 new students during the year. Of those 349 students, eight exited early and 38 are still in training and will be considered in the FY2017 numbers. Of the 303 students eligible for graduation in FY2016, 283 graduated, yielding a graduation rate of 93 percent. AVTEC started FY2017 with 38 students from the previous year and enrolled 245 new students during the year. Of those 283 students, eight exited early and 33 are still in training and will be considered in the FY2018 numbers. Of the 234 students eligible for graduation in FY2017, 234 graduated, yielding a graduation rate of 97 percent. |
Target #3: At least 90 percent of Alaska Vocational Technical Center long-term graduates are employed in their area of training.
Percent of AVTEC Long-Term Program Graduates Employed in Their Area of Training (did not meet the target of 90 percent in FY2016)
Analysis of results and challenges: The Council on Occupational Education (COE) has nationally accredited Alaska Vocational Technical Center (AVTEC) since 1997. The COE benchmark for measuring "graduates of long-term programs employed in their area of training" is established as the national average of more than 400 similar public post-secondary institutions. For each year from FY1999 to FY2014 AVTEC consistently met or exceeded the COE benchmark. In FY2016, of 283 graduates, 21 were unavailable or refused employment and 20 were either looking for employment or AVTEC was unable to establish contact with them. Of the 262 graduates eligible for employment in FY2016, 231 (88 percent) were employed in their area of training. AVTEC only tracks long-term (longer than six weeks) program graduates for this measure. Graduates are followed for approximately one year for employment data collection purposes. |
Target #4: Increase the percentage of Alaska Labor Exchange System registrants that enter employment by one percent as compared to the previous year.
Percent of Alaska Labor Exchange System Registrants that Enter Employment (exceeded the target increase of one percent in FY2016)
Analysis of results and challenges: Due to the transition from the Workforce Investment Act to the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act, the entered employment timeframe was changed from first quarter after exit to second quarter after exit. This information will not be available until FY2018. The FY2017 Alaska labor Exchange Participant outcome data will be available four quarters after the end of the fiscal year. FY2017 ended June 30, 2017 and the divisions anticipates having a full year of outcome data by August 2018. |
Target #5: Equal prior year's number of employed individuals exiting the Vocational Rehabilitation program.
Vocational Rehabilitation Program Participants Employed (did not achieve the target of previous year's employed participants)
Analysis of results and challenges: An individual must be employed for at least 90 days to be considered a successful closure when exiting the vocational rehabilitation program. The number of employed individuals exiting the Division of Vocational Rehabilitation (DVR) program was decreased in FY2017 due to significant changes brought about by the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA). Federal regulations published in August 2016 clarified expectations regarding the provision of Pre-Employment Transition Services (Pre-ETS). DVR was required to set aside 15% of its federal award for the provision of Pre-ETS to students with disabilities. As a result, DVR had to reallocate client service dollars to carry out this requirement, which would account for the 14.9% reduction in successful closures from last FY. This represented a major change for VR programs nationwide. Prior to WIOA’s passage (July 2014) Alaska, like most states, only served a small percentage (less than 5%) of students with disabilities. Pre-Employment Transition Services required by WIOA are very specific. They include: (1) job exploration counseling; (2) work based learning experiences; (3) counseling on opportunities for enrollment in comprehensive transition or postsecondary educational programs at institutions of higher education; (4) workplace readiness training and independent living; and (5) instruction in self advocacy and peer mentoring. While these services assist students in preparing for the transition to the workforce and post-secondary opportunities, they are not expected to yield successful employed case closures (a primary measurement of this Target). As expected, DVR’s implementation of Pre-ETS resulted in a lower number of VR program participants exiting the program employed than reported historically. Related links:
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Target #6: Increase employment of the Alaska resident workforce by 0.5 percent per year.
Resident Workers in Alaska (did not meet the target increase of 0.5 percent in 2015; 2016 data will be available Jan 2018)
Analysis of results and challenges: The number of Alaska resident workers fell by about 2,300 in 2015 (a decline of 0.7 percent). One of the department’s highest priorities is to provide the information and training programs that prepare the state’s resident workforce to get the maximum benefit from the state’s economic growth. To that end, the department is committed to improving the content and marketing of its training programs and producing sound occupational forecasts to help identify unmet training needs. The department will also work with industry to assess their needs, coordinate training programs, and enforce resident-hire laws and regulations. Nonresident worker information for 2016 will be published in January 2018. |
Target #7: Decrease the percent of non-residents working in Alaska by two percent per year.
Percent of Nonresident Workers in Alaska (did not achieve the target of decreasing the percent of nonresident workers in 2015; 2016 data will be available Jan 2018)
Analysis of results and challenges: The nonresident hire rate increased five-tenths of a percentage point to 21.3 percent in 2015. Nonresident information for 2016 will be available in January 2018. There were 422,850 wage and salary workers in Alaska in 2015. Of those, 90,267 (21.3 percent) were nonresidents. Historically, the highest percentages of private sector nonresident workers have been found in manufacturing (mainly seafood processing), scenic and sightseeing transportation, and accommodations. Maximizing resident hire continues to be a high priority of the department. Industries and occupations with high percentages of nonresident workers have been given high priority for new training dollars. Other efforts designed to increase resident hire include industry education and regulatory enforcement. |
| A3: Core Service - Income Replacement: Eligible Alaskans receive timely and accurate income replacement determinations and payments. |
Target #1: Exceed the federal timeliness benchmark of 87 percent of initial Unemployment Insurance payments within 21 days.
Percent of Initial Unemployment Insurance Payments Processed within 21 Days (exceeded the target of 87 percent in 2016)
Analysis of results and challenges: The federal timeliness benchmark is 87 percent of initial payments made within 21 days. Alaska's performance remains well above the federal benchmark each year. In Calendar Year 2016, the total number of people receiving an unemployment insurance payment for at least one week was 43,017. |
Target #2: Requests for reimbursement from the Fishermen's Fund will be paid within 30 days of receipt.
Average Number of Days to Process a Fishermen's Fund Claim (achieved the target of 30 days in FY2017)
Analysis of results and challenges: In FY2017, the number of claims processed by the Fishermen’s Fund totaled 402 with 291 claims approved (289 by fund administration and two by Council). For the year, there were 1,221 bill payments issued by the Fund on the 286 claims. The Fund has been diligent in improving processing of first payments on claims under $10,000. The Fund has actively worked with injured fishermen and providers to ensure that submitted claims contain all required documentation upon initial presentation through the first 90 days via phone call or email. In FY2016, the number of claims processed by the Fishermen’s Fund totaled 437. For the year, there were 325 approved claims with 1,340 payments issued by the Fund. In FY2010, the Fishermen’s Fund benefit limit was raised from $2,500 to $10,000 by the legislature. The new limit change also spurred changes to new claim requirements and documentation that fishermen must submit to the Fund to process new claims. While the fund has not seen a substantial change in the number of claims processed, there has been a substantial increase in claims placed in pending status to complete the claim process. The fund has made efforts to increase contact with fisherman at 30 and 60 days to ensure claims are processed in a timely fashion. Claims filed by fisherman are cyclical with the fishing season. The Fund receives 50% of its claims during the season’s high peaks are July – October, with low peaks from January to March. Most claims are turned in after the fisherman is done with the season and have returned home after 60 to 90 days away. Some return to their homes out of state which also increases time lag to process claim. Claim payments maybe delayed for the following reasons: 1. Receipt of bill from a provider – no claim filed by fisherman. 2. Claim received from fisherman – no explanation of benefits received from provider. 3. Claim received from fisherman, bill received – Fund needs additional information. |
Current as of October 31, 2017