laska Business’ Corporate 100 Special Section is an annual recognition that people drive business. From sole proprietorships to sprawling international operations, at every level people make the difference.

It’s exciting that the Alaska Business editorial team prepared this year’s special section with optimism in the air. Three forecasts for 2022—from economists Neal Fried and Mouhcine Guettabi and the Anchorage Economic Development Corporation (AEDC)—anticipate job growth in Alaska. According to Guettabi, “There are job gains in just about every sector, with the exception of oil and gas.” Fried’s forecast calls for 9,800 additional jobs statewide, which is approximately 3.2 percent job growth. And the 2022 AEDC Employment Forecast report states, “AEDC expects Anchorage to regain 2,400 more jobs in 2022 but remain below pre-pandemic employment levels. The pace of recovery is likely to match that of 2021.”

The numbers of employees reported by the Corporate 100 this year matches this optimism. When surveyed in January, those who made the ranks of the Corporate 100 reported a total of 75,541 Alaskan employees and 2.1 million worldwide employees, compared to 74,654 Alaskan and 1.5 million worldwide employees reported in 2021. Some of the change in worldwide employees reflects mergers, acquisitions, and new parent companies, but it’s still an indication of the overall health of these companies as they find and pursue new opportunities.

It’s not just one sector that experienced the first signs of regrowth in 2021. In fact, newcomers to the Corporate 100 ranks in 2022 represent a range of industries: Ace Hardware (retail), Capstone Clinic (healthcare), Coastal Villages Region Fund and Silver Bay Seafoods (fisheries), Delta Constructors (construction), and JAG Alaska (marine repair, maintenance, and building).

This year Arctic Slope Regional Corporation, which has long held the position as Alaska’s largest company as ranked by revenue, moved into the Top 5 of Alaska’s largest private employers, though competition remains fierce and the Native corporation has a way to go to overtake Providence Alaska, which again tops the Corporate 100 list. This year Providence Alaska reported 5,000 Alaskan employees, a figure that holds steady from 2021.

Wherever an organization places on the list (and if yours isn’t in the ranks and you think it should be, please reach out to editor@akbizmag.com; the only required qualification is an Alaska business license), the jobs that it provides for Alaskans strengthen communities across the state, without exception.

In this special section, in addition to the official Corporate 100 ranks, Alaska Business explores many aspects of being employed in Alaska, from unique positions in “Alaska’s Rarest Occupations” to the special experience of “Alaska Airlines’ Suzanne Druxman,” who has been with the airline for two decades. We also celebrate the 100th anniversary of our long-time partner First National Bank Alaska, which has deliberately crafted an award-winning environment for its workers.

Alaska’s economic experts are optimistic about 2022, and so are we. We’re looking forward to an even bigger and better tourism season, high oil prices, and an infusion of federal infrastructure dollars that might lead to even higher record numbers for the 2023 Corporate 100.