Nevada County Picayune and Gurdon Times Newspaper Archive

Jobless Rate Down In Region

There was good news on the employment front for Nevada County.

According to the Arkansas Employment Security Division (ESD), the unemployment rate for the area dropped from 7.5 percent in February to 6.1 percent in March.

In fact, the jobless rate fell for all counties surrounding Nevada County as well.

Clark County dropped from 3.5 percent in February to a low 2.9 percent in March.

Columbia County's decline went from 7.6 percent to 5.9 percent for the period.

In Hempstead County, the numbers went down from 6.4 percent to 5.3 percent.

Lafayette County saw a decrease from 8.7 percent to 6.5 percent.

Ouachita County enjoyed its fall, going from double digits at 10.2 percent to 8.9 percent in March.

Pike County's decline was more modest, as the numbers went from 6.0 percent to 5.4 percent.

A check of where counties rank based on their jobless figures.

Clark County enters the list at number seven, while Hempstead County comes in 34th.

Pike County is ranked 35th, while Columbia County is 40th.

Nevada County joins the list directly behind Columbia County in 41st position.

Lafayette County is close at hand being ranked 43rd.

Ouachita County joins the group in 67th place.

There were eight counties with jobless rates between 2.0 and 2.9 percent, while another 10 counties have numbers from 3.0 to 3.9 percent.

The 4.0 to 4.9 percent category houses 12 counties, with 10 counties being contained in the 5.0 to 5.9 percent division.

Nine counties make up the 6.0 to 6.9 percent slot, and there are 10 counties in the 7.0 to 7.9 percent range.

Eight counties compose the 8.0 to 8.9 percent bracket, while there are two counties registering jobless figures from 9.0 to 9.9 percent.

There are six counties with double digit unemployment in the state, with four falling between 10.0 and 10. 9 percent.

One is in the 11.0 to 11.9 percent bracket, while the other is in the 12.0 to 12.9 percent division.

Once again, Benton County has the lowest jobless rate in the state with a minuscule 2.3 percent figure.

Meanwhile, the highest unemployment figures in Arkansas belong to Woodruff County at 12.5 percent.

Looking at the state's five Metropolitan Statistical Areas (MSAs), the Fayetteville- Springdale-Rogers MSA continues to have the lowest unemployment rate at 2.5 percent for March, a drop from 3.0 percent in February.

Next on the list, once again, is the Little Rock-North Little Rock MSA at an even 3.0 percent, down from February's 3.5 percent.

Jonesboro's MSA is third of the five, with 3.3 percent unemployment. This is a drop from 4.0 percent a month earlier.

Fort Smith's MSA rank is fourth with a 4.2 percent jobless rate. This figure is down from February's 5.0 percent.

The Pine Bluff MSA brings up the rear again, but had a significant drop in its unemployment for the recording period. In February the figure was 8.3 percent, falling to 7.1 percent in March.

Overall, the state's seasonally adjusted jobless rate fell from 4.7 percent to 4.4 percent.

Nationally, the figure dropped from 4.4 percent to 4.2 percent.

The best news for Arkansas, though, is the unemployment numbers fell in 74 of 75 counties. The only exception was in Conway County, where a manufacturing plant began laying off workers, according to the ESD.