Nevada County Picayune and Gurdon Times Newspaper Archive

Unemployment Dips In Clark County

Clark County's unemployment rate fell from 4.1 percent in January to 3.5 percent in February, according to the Arkansas Employment Security Division (ESD).

Even with the drop, though, the county barely made the top 10 in the state's jobless rankings.

With the exception of Ouachita County, surrounding counties also enjoyed a decline in their unemployment rates.

Ouachita County's jobless figures, however, rose from 7.7 percent to 9.2 percent.

Dallas County got out of double-digit unemployment in a big way, as its unemployment rate fell from 10.2 percent to 7.3 percent.

In Hot Spring County, the decline was almost a full percentage point, from 6.6 percent to 5.7 percent.

Montgomery County had a significant drop as well, going from 6.4 percent to 4.7 percent for the recording period.

In Nevada County, the change was from 5.7 percent to 4.9 percent, while Pike County dropped from 6.5 percent to 5.0 percent.

Checking the rankings based on unemployment rates shows Clark County 10th, with Montgomery County next up in 25th.

Hot Spring County came in at 38th, with Dallas County making the list in 51st.

Ouachita County ended up in 65th place.

Overall, there were seven counties in the state with unemployment in excess of 10 percent. In fact, in these counties, the figures ranged from 10.1 percent in Lee County to 13.8 percent in Mississippi County.

The other end of the spectrum showed Benton County with a scant 1.9 percent jobless rate.

Statewide, 55 counties had lower unemployment figures in February, but with the closing of a manufacturing plant in Mississippi County, the rate rose from 4.3 to 4.4 percent in Arkansas. Nationally, the figures remained steady at 4.2 percent.

There was one county with jobless figures from 1.0 to 1.9 percent, and one falling in the 2.0 to 2.9 percent category.

A total of 10 counties registered figures from 3.0 to 3.9 percent, with 14 showing 4.0 to 4.9 percent unemployment numbers.

The 5.0 to 5.9 percent division held 13 counties, while there were six in the 6.0 to 6.9 percent bracket.

Nine counties showed figures in the 7.0 to 7.9 percent bracket, with seven in the 8.0 to 8.9 percent slot.

Five counties had jobless rates from 9.0 to 9.9 percent, while there were four with 10.0 to 10.9 percent.

There was one county each with unemployment rates from 11.0 to 11.9 percent, 12.0 to 12.9 percent and 13.0 to 13.9 percent.

The unemployment rate fell in four of the state's five Metropolitan Statistical Areas (MSAs). The Fort Smith MSA had an increase from 3.8 percent to 4.5 percent for the reporting period.

The Fayetteville-Springdale-Rogers MSA dropped from 2.3 to 2.1 percent, while the Little Rock-North Little Rock MSA fell from 3.7 to 3.4 percent.

The Jonesoboro MSA also went down, going from 4.4 to 4.1 percent. Pine Bluff's MSA again had the highest unemployment rate, but the region had a solid drop from 8.8 percent to 8.0 percent.