Nevada County Picayune and Gurdon Times Newspaper Archive

Area unemployment 2.7 percent

In spite of recent downturns in the local and area economy, Clark County's unemployment rate remains below 3 percent.

According to the Arkansas Employment Security Division, the jobless figures for Clark County were 2.7 percent for November.

This was a significant drop from the October rate of 4.3 percent.

The figures for surrounding counties fluxuated, with some unemployment rates rising and others falling.

Dallas County saw its figures fall from 8.1 percent to 7.6 percent for the reporting period, while Hot Spring County's numbers rose, climbing from 4.7 percent to 5.5 percent.

Montgomery County went from 2.7 percent to 3.9 percent, with Nevada County's figures staying steady at 3.5 percent.

Ouachita County enjoyed a slight drop in its jobless rate, going from 6.9 percent to 6.8 percent. The same couldn't be said for Pike County, as its numbers rose from 4.1 percent to 6.0 percent.

Looking at the county's rankings based on unemployment, Clark County comes in at fifth. Next on the list is Nevada County in 14th.

Montgomery County enters the foray at 27th, while Hot Spring County is ranked 51st.

Pike County is rated 57th, with Ouachita County 65th and Dallas County bringing up the rear in 71st.

Once again, Washington County has the lowest unemployment rate in the state at 1.8 percent. On the other end of the spectrum, Mississippi County has the highest jobless figures at 11.0 percent.

There was one county with jobless numbers between 1.0 and 1.9 percent, while six counties showed figures from 2.0 to 2.9 percent.

A total of 22 counties had unemployment figures from 3.0 to 3.9 percent. Thirteen counties tallied in from 4.0 to 4.9 percent.

There were 14 counties in the 5.0 to 5.9 percent bracket, and eight housed in the 6.0 to 6.9 percent region.

Seven counties figured in for the 7.0 to 7.9 percent slot, with two in the 8.0 to 8.9 percent category.

Only one county in the state had double-digit unemployment, and it was between 11.0 and 11.9 percent.

The Fayetteville-Springdale-Rogers Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA) had the lowest unemployment among MSAs at 2.0 percent, but this is up from 1.7 percent in October.

The Little Rock-North Little Rock and Jonesboro MSAs had 3.5 percent jobless figures for November.

Each had shown 3.3 percent unemployment rates in October.

The Fort Smith MSA rose from 3.3 percent in October to 3.8 percent in November.

The Pine Bluff MSA had the highest unemployment figures at 6.2 percent, up from 5.7 percent a month earlier.

Arkansas's seasonally adjusted unemployment rate rose to 4.8 percent in November, after being 4.3 percent in October.

Nationally, the unemployment rate climbed three-tenths of a point to 5.7 percent, the highest it's been since August 1995.