FAIRBANKS, Alaska (AP) – Alaska’s population declined for the first time since the late 1980s, according to recent figures from Alaska’s Department of Labor and Workforce Development.

The department published the statistics for 2017 in the March edition of Alaska Economic Trends.

Figures show the state’s population decreased by 8,900 last year, the fifth year in a row of net migration losses, the Fairbanks Daily News-Miner reported.

“This represents the longest streak of Alaska losing more migrants than it gains since World War II, when yearly numbers first became available,” ac...