Published: Wednesday, June 6, 2012, 9:17 p.m.
Skagway, Alaska, post office short on workers, long on mail
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JUNEAU, Alaska -- The population of the Skagway swells each year with summer workers and tourists, but one place that isn't crowded is the city's post office -- at least behind the counter.
The post office in the historic Klondike Gold Rush town has four authorized positions but only one is filled.
City manager Tom Smith told the Juneau Empire that he went to pick up his mail Saturday and saw 20 people in line to pick up packages.
U.S. Postal Service spokesman Ernie Swanson said the agency last week began sending up Juneau employees to help out until it finds permanent replacements.
The local job situation doesn't help. Skagway has Alaska's lowest unemployment with only about two dozen residents without jobs out of a workforce of 861.
The post office in the historic Klondike Gold Rush town has four authorized positions but only one is filled.
City manager Tom Smith told the Juneau Empire that he went to pick up his mail Saturday and saw 20 people in line to pick up packages.
U.S. Postal Service spokesman Ernie Swanson said the agency last week began sending up Juneau employees to help out until it finds permanent replacements.
The local job situation doesn't help. Skagway has Alaska's lowest unemployment with only about two dozen residents without jobs out of a workforce of 861.
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