Nevada County Picayune and Gurdon Times Newspaper Archive

Jobless Rate Rises To 3.9 Percent In Clark County

Bad news in Clark County for the unemployment rate.

According to information from the Arkansas Employment Security Division (ESD), the jobless rate rose from 3.7 percent in July to 3.9 percent in August.

The jobless figures in surrounding counties varied, with some rising, some going down and a couple remaining the same.

The numbers in Dallas County went up 0.2 percent, rising from 9.0 percent in July to 9.2 percent in August.

Hot Spring County had no change in its jobless figures, remaining a constant 4.6 percent for the period.

In Montgomery County, the unemployment numbers rose from 3.5 percent to 3.8 percent.

Nevada County enjoyed a bit of a decline, falling from 5.8 percent in July to 5.4 percent in August.

Ouachita County was another with no change, staying static at 8.8 percent.

In Pike County there was a significant decrease as the numbers went from 5.9 percent to 4.5 percent.

Looking at where the counties rank based on their unemployment figures, Montgomery County enters the list in 14th place with its 3.8 percent figure.

Next is Clark County, ranked 15th, with a 3.9 percent rate, while Pike County is rated 26th.

Hot Spring County joins the parade in 29th place, while Nevada County is ranked 38th out of 75 counties in the state.

Ouachita County is 68th, with Dallas County coming in at 69th.

Benton County has the lowest unemployment rate in the state at 2.5 percent, while Jackson County has the highest jobless figures at 11.5 percent.

There are five counties in Arkansas with unemployment numbers from 2.0 to 2.9 percent, while 11 comprise the 3.0 to 3.9 percent bracket.

Another 17 can be found in the 4.0 to 4.9 percent division, with 11 counties registering unemployment figures between 5.0 to 5.9 percent.

An even dozen counties fall in the 6.0 to 6.9 percent category, with six finding themselves with jobless rates from 7.0 to 7.9 percent.

Six counties make up the 8.0 to 8.9 percent slot, with four joining the list with 9.0 to 9.9 percent figures.

Two counties can be found with unemployment figures from 10.0 to 10.9 percent, with one in the 11.0 to 11.5 percent bracket.

A check of the state's five Metropolitan Statistical Areas (MSAs) shows the Fayetteville-Rogers-Springdale MSA with the lowest unemployment at 2.8 percent, unchanged from July.

Next comes the Little Rock-North Little Rock MSA at 3.5 percent, also unchanged from a month earlier.

The Fort Smith MSA comes in at third with 3.7 percent of its citizens needing work. This is down from 3.8 percent in July.

The Jonesboro MSA is ranked fourth for August with a 3.9 percent figure, up from 3.8 percent a month earlier.

Once again, the Pine Bluff MSA has the highest jobless rate of the five, this time at 8.2 percent, up from 8.0 percent in July.

Arkansas' seasonally adjusted unemployment rate rose slightly, climbing from 4.7 to 4.8 percent for the recording period.

Nationally, the jobless rate remained unchanged at 4.2 percent.