For the past 40 years, Alaska’s economy has been supported almost exclusively by its oil and gas industry. As a matter of fact, about 93% of the state’s general fund revenues come from oil production, and about one-third of its jobs are oil-related. To put it in perspective just how important oil is to the state’s economy, a study released by the University of Alaska’s Institute for Social and Economic Research (ISER) found that, without oil, the state’s economy would be only half its current size.
