Nevada County Picayune and Gurdon Times Newspaper Archive

Jobless Rate Drops In County

Unemployment in Clark County dropped a tenth of a percentage point from November to December, according to information from the Arkansas Employment Security Divsion.

The jobless rates for surrounding counties varied, with some rising and others falling.

Dallas County saw its unemployment numbers skyrocket from 5.1 percent to 6.5 percent.

The figures were unchanged in Hot Spring County, remaining 4.0 percent for both months.

In Montgomery County, the jobless rate rose slightly, going from 3.9 percent in November to 4.0 percent in December.

Nevada County enjoyed a solid drop in its figures, falling from 5.5 percent to 4.6 percent for the reporting period.

Ouachita County enjoyed a bit of stability as its numbers remained unchanged at 6.2 percent, and Pike County's declined from 5.5 percent to 4.6 percent.

Benton County had the lowest unemployment rate in the state at an almost non-existent 1.6 percent, while Bradley County had the highest jobless problem at 11.1 percent.

Clark County was ranked fourth in Arkansas with its 2.5 percent figures.

Hot Spring and Montgomery counties tied for 28th with their 4.0 percent rates.

Nevada and Pike counties were deadlocked in 38th place with 4.6 percent figures.

Ouachita County entered the list in 60th position, while Dallas County came in 63rd with its 6.5 percent unemployment.

Two counties reported jobless rates from 1.0 to 1.9 percent, Benton and Washington counties.

Eight counties were on the list with figures from 2.0 to 2.9 percent, while there were 17 counties in the 3.0 to 3.9 percent division.

The 4.0 to 4.9 percent bracket encompassed 19 of Arkansas' 75 counties.

There were 10 counties with jobless rates from 5.0 to 5.9 percent and another nine in the 6.0 to 6.9 percent category.

Six counties composed the 7.0 to 7.9 percent slot, while there was one county each in the 8.0 to 8.9 percent and 9.0 to 9.9 percent slots.

In addition, one county, Desha, filtered in between 10.0 and 10.9 percent, with one also coming in between 11.0 and 11.9 percent.

Overall, the state's unemployment figures fell a tenth of a point from November to December, according to the ESD, while the national jobless rate remained unchanged at 4.0 percent.

A total of 59 counties in the state saw their unemployment numbers rise, while the figures dropped in six and were unchanged in 10.

The Fayetteville-Rogers-Springdale Metropolitan Statistical Area had the lowest jobless rate at 1.7 percent in December, but this was an increase of a tenth of a percent from November's 1.6 percent.

The Little Rock-North Little Rock MSA was next at 2.9 percent, also up from November's 2.8 percent.

The Fort Smith MSA was ranked third at 3.0 percent, unchanged from a month earlier.

Jonesboro's MSA was also unchanged, staying at 3.6 percent for the recording period.

And, as usual, the Pine Bluff MSA had the highest jobless rate at 6.6 percent, up from 6.0 percent in November.