Nevada County Picayune and Gurdon Times Newspaper Archive

Area Unemployment Falls Slightly

Unemployment in Nevada County dropped slightly from May to June.

The May rate was an even 6.0 percent, while the numbers fell to 5.9 percent in June, according to information from the Arkansas Employment Security Division (ESD).

For the most part, the jobless rate in surrounding counties also declined. The lone exception to this rule was in Clark County, which saw its unemployment figures rise from 3.2 percent in May to 3.4 percent in June.

In Columbia County, the numbers dropped from May's 7.3 percent to 7.1 percent in June.

Hempstead County also saw a slight decline, with its figures falling from 6.8 percent to 6.6 percent for the recording period.

In Lafayette County, the change was even less, but a drop is a drop as the numbers went from 7.7 percent to 7.6 percent.

Ouachita County, with normally one of the highest jobless rates in the state, saw its unemployment statistics fall from 9.8 percent in May to 9.3 percent in June.

The figures in Pike County fell significantly as well, going from 4.3 percent to 3.8 percent.

Looking at the rankings based on unemployment figures, Clark County fell somewhat, but remained in the top 10 at ninth with its 3.4 percent rate.

Pike County was next on the list in 13th place with 3.8 percent. There is a long drop until the next county in the area, with it being Nevada in 44th position at 5.9 percent.

Hempstead County enters the tally in 49th, with its 6.6 percent number, while Columbia County (7.1 percent) is ranked 54th.

Then comes Lafayette County (7.6 percent) in 57th, while Ouachita County is rated 70th with a 9.3 percent figure.

The spectrum ranged from 2.8 percent unemployment in Benton County as the low, to a high of 11.1 percent in Bradley County.

There were two counties in the state with jobless figures from 2.0 to 2.9 percent, while another 15 fell in the 3.0 to 3.9 percent range.

There are 18 counties housed in the 4.0 to 4.9 percent bracket, with the 5.0 to 5.9 percent division containing nine counties.

Eight counties fall within the confines of the 6.0 to 6.9 percent slot, with 10 counties being in the 7.0 to 7.9 percent category.

The 8.0 to 8.9 percent slot has five counties, while there are six counties with jobless numbers from 9.0 to 9.9 percent.

One county, Calhoun, is in the 10.0 to 10.9 percent bracket at 10.4 percent, with one other county, Bradley (11.1 percent) in the 11.0 to 11.9 percent division.

Overall, the jobless rate fell in 44 counties during the rating period, while it went up in 22 and was unchanged in nine.

Looking at the state's five Metropolitan Statistical Areas (MSAs), the Fayetteville- Springdale-Rogers MSA was unchanged at 3.1 percent and has the lowest jobless rate.

On the other side of the coin, the Pine Bluff MSA had the highest unemployment figures, rising a full percentage point from 7.3 percent in May to 8.3 percent in June.

The Little Rock-North Little Rock MSA was second on the list with its 3.8 percent numbers, up from May's 3.7 percent.

The Jonesboro MSA was next, remaining steady at 4.0 percent, with the Fort Smith MSA falling from 4.7 percent to 4.6 percent for the period.

The state's seasonally adjusted unemployment rate was 4.8 percent in June, down a solid 4/10 percent from May's 5.2 percent.

This is the lowest the state's jobless numbers have been since July 1995 when the rate was also 4.8 percent.

Nationally, the figure rose from 4.3 percent to 4.5 percent.