Nevada County Picayune and Gurdon Times Newspaper Archive

County's Unemployment Rate Rises Slightly In June

Clark County's jobless rate rose 0.2 percent from May to June, dropping the county to ninth in the rankings

In May, the unemployment figures for the county were 3.2 percent, according to information from the Arkansas Employment Security Division.

The numbers in surrounding counties fluxuate up and down.

Dallas County saw its figures jump more than a full percentage point, rising from 6.7 percent in May to 7.8 percent in June.

For Hot Spring County, the numbers remained unchanged at 6.8 percent for the recording period.

Montgomery County saw its jobless rate fall from 3.6 to 3.3 percent, while Nevada County had a slight decline, going from 6.0 to 5.9 percent.

In Ouachita County, the numbers dropped from 9.8 percent to 9.3 percent, with Pike County also experiencing a decline, falling from 4.3 to 3.8 percent.

Returning to the rankings, Clark County fell from the top three to ninth, while Montgomery County climbed to fifth.

Next on the list was Nevada County in 44th place, with Hot Spring County entering the tally at 52nd.

Dallas County came on the list ranked 62nd, with Ouachita County in at No. 70.

Benton County had the lowest jobless rate in the state at 2.8 percent, while Bradley County was on the other end of the spectrum with its 11.1 percent rating.

There were two counties with jobless figures from 2.0 to 2.9 percent. The 3.0 to 3.9 percent division housed 15 counties.

In the 4.0 to 4.9 percent range, there were 18 counties, while another nine counties were in the 5.0 to 5.9 bracket.

Eight counties comprised the 6.0 to 6.9 percent segment, with a total of 10 counties in the 7.0 to 7.9 percent area.

There were five counties with jobless rates from 8.0 to 8.9 percent, ad another six in the 9.0 to 9.9 percent division.

One county, Calhoun (10.4 percent) was in the 10.0 to 10.9 percent slot, and one other, Bradley County (11.1 percent) with a jobless rate of 11.0 to 11.9 percent.

Looking at the state's five Metropolitan Statistical Areas (MSAs), the Fayetteville- Springdale-Rogers MSA again has the lowest jobless rate, remaining steady at 3.1 percent for the recording period.

And, once again, the Pine Bluff MSA had the highest unemployment figures for MSAs , climbing a full percentage point from 7.3 to 8.3 percent.

Next on the list was the Little Rock-North Little Rock MSA at 3.8 percent, up from May's figures of 3.7 percent.

The Jonesboro MSA was ranked third with its 4.0 percent rate, unchanged for the period.

The Fort Smith MSA saw a slight decline in its numbers, going from 4.7 to 4.6 percent.

Arkansas' seasonally adjusted unemployment rate was 4.8 percent in June, down 0.4 percent from May's 5.2 percent figure. This rate is the lowest the unemployment has been in the state since July 1995, when it was also 4.8 percent.

Nationally, the numbers increased, rising from 4.3 percent in May to 4.5 percent for June.