Nevada County Picayune and Gurdon Times Newspaper Archive

Unemployment rate up

Unemployment in Nevada County rose slightly from April to May.

According to information from the Arkansas Employment Security Division, the jobless rate in the county rose from 4.2 percent in April to 4.4 percent in May.

While the increase wasn't much, Nevada County was one of 48 counties to undergo a rise in unemployment.

In fact, all counties surrounding Nevada County saw their unemployment figures rise.

The numbers in Clark County jumped from 2.6 percent in April, to May's 3.3 percent.

In Columbia County, the increase was less, as the figures rose from 4.2 to 4.5 percent for the recording period.

Hempstead County went from 3.6 percent in April to 4.3 percent in May, while Lafayette County rose from 4.3 to 4.6 percent.

Ouachita County barely managed to stay below the 10 percent mark, as it's unemployment rate rose from 9.5 percent to 9.8 percent.

Pike County also had a slight increase, rising from 4.0 to 4.3 percent.

Once again, not surprisingly, Benton County had the lowest jobless rate in the state at 1.8 percent.

There were three counties in Arkansas (Desha, Drew and Mississippi) with unemployment figures at or above 10 percent.

Only one county, Benton, had unemployment from 1.0 to 1.9 percent.

There were nine counties falling in the 2.0 to 2.9 percent bracket, and 17 counties with figures from 3.0 to 3.9 percent.

A total of 16 counties fell in the 4.0 to 4.9 percent category, with 10 counties registering unemployment from 5.0 to 5.9 percent.

Eight counties were found in the 6.0 to 6.9 percent range, with five counties having jobless rates of 7.0 to 7.9 percent.

Four counties were between 8.0 and 8.9 percent with unemployment, while two registered in the 9.0 to 9.9 percent division.

There were also two counties with jobless figures from 10.0 to 10.9 percent.

One county, Mississippi, had unemployment of 12.0 to 12.9 percent.

Checking where counties rank based on their unemployment figures, Clark County is 12th on the list, followed by Pike County in 32nd place.

Nevada County enters the tally in 34th, followed closely by Columbia County in 37th.

Hempstead and Lafayette counties are deadlocked fo 39th, while Ouachita County falls in at 72nd.

Looking at the state's five Metropolitan Statistical Areas (MSAs), the Fayetteville-Springdale-Rogers MSA had a slight rise in its jobless figures, going from 1.8 percent to 1.9 percent. This MSA still has the lowest numbers of all areas.

Next on the list is the Fort Smith MSA, rising from 3.1 percent to 3.3 percent from April to May.

Third is the Little Rock-North Little Rock MSA, moving from 3.4 percent to 3.5 percent.

The Jonesboro MSA is fourth, with its figures rising from 3.4 percent to 3.6 percent.

Once again, the Pine Bluff MSA has the highest jobless rate of all, as it rose from 7.1 to 7.3 percent.

The unemployment figure in Arkansas rose from 4.5 percent in April to 4.6 percent in May, while the national rate dropped from 4.5 to 4.4 percent, according to the ESD.