Nevada County Picayune and Gurdon Times Newspaper Archive

Clark County Jobless Rate Falls

There was more good news for Clark County on the unemployment front as the jobless rate dropped.

According to information from the Arkansas Employment Security Division, the unemployment numbers went from 3.4 percent in March to 2.8 percent in April.

With the exception of Ouachita County, all other counties surrounding Clark saw their jobless rates decline.

Dallas County went from 10.3 percent in March to 9.0 percent in April.

The fall in Hot Spring County wasn't as great, but it was as appreciated with the numbers going from 5.6 percent in March to April's 4.5 percent.

In Montgomery County the change went from 3.8 percent to 3.1 percent, while the numbers in Nevada County fell from 6.5 percent in March to 4.6 percent by the time the report was compiled in April.

Ouachita County was the only county in the state to see its unemployment rate rise. It went from 8.2 percent in March to 8.6 percent in April.

The jobless figures in the other 74 counties in Arkansas went down.

Pike County's numbers declined from 5.4 percent in March to 4.9 percent in April.

There was a wide disparity between the lowest jobless rate in the state and the highest. The lowest, Benton County, was an unbelievable 1.8 percent, while the highest, Desha County, was 12.6 percent.

Clark County's 2.8 percent unemployment numbers was good enough for seventh place in state rankings.

Montgomery County was next in 11th place with its 3.1 percent figure, while Hot Spring County followed down the list in 37th.

Nevada County entered the tally at 39th, while Pike County joined the list in 43rd place.

Ouachita County's 8.6 percent unemployment rate was good enough for 68th place, while Dallas County finished up in 70th.

There was one county with jobless figures from 1.0 to 1.9 percent, with seven showing unemployment numbers in the 2.0 to 2.9 percent bracket.

A whopping 21 counties registered jobless rates from 3.0 to 3.9 percent, while 18 more came in between the 4.0 to 4.9 percent category.

There were eight counties reporting unemployment figures from 5.0 to 5.9 percent and six showing numbers in the 6.0 to 6.9 percent range.

Six was also the magic number for those counties with jobless rates from 7.0 to 7.9 percent, with only two being found in the 8.0 to 8.9 percent breakdown.

Five counties were placed in the 9.0 to 9.9 percent slot, with only one county in the state with double digit unemployment and it between 12.0 and 12.9 percent.

Checking the state's five Metropolitan Statistical Areas shows the Fayetteville-Springdale-Rogers MSA having fallen from an already low 2.4 percent in March to almost an nonexistent 1.9 percent in April.

The Jonesboro MSA was second on the list, as its figures went from 3.8 percent to 3.0 percent for the recording period.

Next up was the Little Rock-North Little Rock MSA, showing a drop from 3.7 percent to 3.2 percent.

Then came the Fort Smith MSA, falling from March's 3.9 percent to April's 3.3 percent.

Once again, the Pine Bluff MSA had the highest unemployment rate, but still enjoyed a drop of more than a full percentage point, going from 7.7 percent to 6.4 percent for the recording period.

Arkansas' seasonally adjusted figures were 4.4 percent for April, down from 4.7 percent in both February and March.

On the national level, the unemployment rate dropped from 4.0 percent in March to 3.9 percent in April.

This is the first time, according to the ESD, the jobless rate has been below 4.0 percent since January 1970.