Seafood harvesting employment in Alaska is on the rise.

A new report in the November edition of state Labor Department publication Alaska Economic Trends says monthly employment in Alaska's seafood harvesting sector in 2013 grew by 2.4 percent, a level not seen since 2000.

Job growth, primarily driven by increased salmon harvesting, brought the year's monthly average of people employed in seafood harvesting to 8,393, less than 400 shy of 2000's level, labor economist Josh Warren wrote in Trends' annual update on the economics of Alaska's seafood industry.

Salmon harvesting jobs were the main source of growth between 2012 and 2013, with a gain of 452 jobs, or 10 percent. This growth came from a small increase in reported crew sizes by permit holders, as well as more fishing, Warren said.

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