The Associated Press

ANCHORAGE -- The number of nonresidents working in Alaska increased slightly from 2000 to 2001.

The state Department of Labor says nonresident workers made up 18.4 percent of the work force in Alaska in 2001. That's up from 17.9 percent in 2000.

But the figures represent a big decline from 1992 when 78,000 nonresidents made up nearly 24 percent of all workers in the state.

The report says the percentage of nonresident workers in Alaska's oil industry increased to 28 percent from 27.5 percent in 2000. The total earnings paid to nonresidents in the oil industry increased from $189 million in 2000 to $239 million in 2001.