Prairie State Wire

Rental vacancies in Alaska were 7.9 percent in the first quarter of 2019, a decrease of 4.9 percent from the previous quarter, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

Vacancy rates are a leading economic indicator used by economic forecasters and the federal government to gauge the current economic climate.

The rental vacancy rate is the proportion of the homeowner inventory vacant for rent at the time of the survey.

The bureau compiles data from a sampling of approximately 72,000 occupied and vacant housing units across the country and the District of Columbia. The bureau also collects information on homeownership vacancies, as well as certain characteristics about housing unit, such as age of household members, family status, race/ethnicity and median family income.