Nevada County Picayune and Gurdon Times Newspaper Archive

Unemployment Rate Remains Steady

Clark County's unemployment rate remained unchanged from July to August, according to information from the Arkansas Employment Security Division (ESD).

The figure in question is 3.6 percent. While Clark County's jobless numbers stayed steady, surrounding counties saw some fluxuation in their figures.

Dallas County enjoyed a solid decline in its jobless number, dropping from 6.7 percent in July to 6.1 percent in August.

Hot Spring County also had a good drop in its figures, falling from 5.9 percent in July to the August figure of 5.3 percent.

Montgomery County had a slight decrease in its numbers, going from 3.8 percent to 3.6 percent, while Nevada Count's jobless figures remained unchanged at 6.4 percent for the recording period.

Ouachita County had an increase in the number of people needing jobs, as the figure climbed from July's 9.8 percent to an even 10.0 percent in August.

Pike County suffered a similar fate with its unemployment rate going up from 3.9 percent to 4.3 percent.

Benton and Carroll counties have the lowest jobless rates in the state at 2.7 percent, while Woodruff County is at the other end of the spectrum with 11.1 percent of its citizenry needing work.

Looking at where area counties rank according to their rating, Clark County enters the poll in 12th, tied with Montgomery County.

Pike County enters the tally in 25th place, while Hot Spring County is ranked 37th.

Dallas County enters the foray in 41st position, while Nevada County finds itself in 44th place.

Ouachita County can be found down on the list in 72nd position.

Four counties in the state have jobless rates from 2.0 to 2.9 percent, while there are 17 counties falling in the 3.0 to 3.9 percent bracket.

There are 13 counties housed within the 4.0 to 4.9 percent division, and six can be found with jobless rates from 5.0 to 5.9 percent.

There are 15 counties with unemployment numbers from 6.0 to 6.9 percent, and another 10 in the 7.0 to 7.9 percent range.

Three is a popular number as there are three counties with jobless rates from 8.0 to 8.9 percent, another trio in the 9.0 to 9.9 percent slot with yet three more showing 10.0 to 10.9 percent.

One county, Woodruff, has a jobless rate of 11.0 to 11.9 percent.

A check of the state's five Metropolitan Statistical Areas (MSAs) sees the Fayetteville- Springdale-Rogers MSA with the lowest jobless rate at 3.1 percent, down from 3.4 percent in July.

The Pine Bluff MSA found itself at the other end of the spectrum with the highest jobless rate at 7.6 percent, even though the area had a decline from 8.2 percent.

The Little Rock-North Little Rock MSA was second on the list with a 3.5 percent figure, down from 3.8 percent in July.

The Jonesboro MSA also enjoyed a drop in its jobless rate, going from 4.0 to 3.7 percent for the recording period.

Next up was the Fort Smith MSA at 4.3 percent, down from July's 4.6 percent.

Arkansas' seasonally adjusted unemployment rate was the lowest it's been since the Bureau of Labor Statistics began keeping records in 1978. The state's figure was 4.5 percent in August, down from July's 4.7 percent.

Nationally, the jobless rate was also 4.5 percent, unchanged from July.