Nevada County Picayune and Gurdon Times Newspaper Archive

Unemployment Falls Again In Clark County

Clark County's unemployment rate fell from March to April, again giving the county one of the lowest jobless rates in the state.

In March, the county's jobless figure stood at 3.5 percent. This number declined in April to an even 3.0 percent, according to figures from the Arkansas Employment Security Division.

Most surrounding counties also enjoyed declines in their unemployment rates, with one major exception

Dallas County gladly watched as its jobless figure went from 7.4 percent in March to 6.1 percent in April.

Hot Spring County was the lone exception to the decline rule as its unemployment numbers climbed from 5.7 percent to 6.0 percent for the reporting period.

Montgomery County, though had a significant drop, falling from 5.0 to 3.1 percent, as did Nevada County. The numbers in Nevada County plummeted from March's 7.5 percent to 5.9 percent in April.

Ouachita County enjoyed a full percentage point fall of its jobless figure, but remained in double figures as the drop was from 11.0 percent to 10.0 percent.

In Pike County, the numbers went down from 4.4 percent to 3.9 percent.

Checking the rankings based on the jobless rates, Clark County enters the tally in third, behind Saline (2.7 percent) and Benton counties (2.9 percent).

Montgomery County is fourth with its 3.1 percent rating, while Pike County isn't far behind in 13th (3.9 percent).

Next up is Nevada County in 41st with a 5.9 percent figure, while Hot Spring County enters the list in 44th at 6.0 percent.

Dallas County falls in at 46th place with a 6.1 percent rating, while Ouachita County was close to bringing up the rear in 72nd place with its 10.0 percent rate.

Saline County has the lowest unemployment figures in the state with its 2.7 percent number, while Bradley County is at the other end of the spectrum in 75th, with 13.1 percent of its citizenry out of work.

Two counties, Saline and Benton, fall within the confines of the 2.0 to 2.9 percent bracket, with 13 others being housed within the 3.0 to 3.9 percent division.

There are 19 counties making up the 4.0 to 4.9 percent group, while eight other counties fall within 5.0 to 5.9 percent with their unemployment.

Eight counties are in the 6.0 to 6.9 percent region, with nine making up the 7.0 to 7.9 percent class. Nine more counties fall within the 8.0 to 8.9 percent unemployment range, with two making up the 9.0 to 9.9 percent slot.

Two other counties (Ouachita and Calhoun) make up the 10.0 to 10.9 percent faction. One county (Randolph) falls within the borders of the 11.0 to 11.9 percent division, while one other (Bradley) makes up the 13.0 to 13.9 percent class.

Looking at the state's five Metropolitan Statistical Areas (MSAs), the Fayetteville- Springdale-Rogers MSA with the lowest jobless rate among the MSAs with a 3.1 percent rating, down from 3.8 percent in March.

Next on the list came the Little Rock-North Little Rock MSA with a 3.5 percent unemployment figure, also down from March's numbers at 4.1 percent.

Jonesboro's MSA was third on the list, falling from 4.5 percent in March to 3.9 percent for April.

Fort Smith dropped from 5.3 percent to 4.4 percent to capture fourth place, while the Pine Bluff MSA was again last, though its jobless rate fell from 8.2 percent to 7.1 percent.

According to the ESD, Arkansas' seasonally adjusted unemployment rate dropped four- tenths of a percentage point during the reporting period, falling from 5.6 to 5.2 percent. The national unemployment rate stood at 4.3 percent for the month.