Nevada County Picayune and Gurdon Times Newspaper Archive

County's Jobless Rate Drops To 5.9%

Unemployment in Nevada County continues to drop.

According to figures from the Arkansas Employment Security Division (ESD), the county's jobless rate dropped from 6.0 to 5.9 percent from April to May.

Surrounding counties saw fluxuations in their unemployment rate as well.

Clark County, after a bad March, has returned to the forefront with a 2.6 percent jobless rate. The April figures for Clark County were 2.9 percent.

In Columbia County, the jobless figures fell from 7.0 to 6.6 percent for the recording period.

Hempstead County, on the other hand, was one of the counties to see its unemployment numbers go the other direction. From April to May, the figures in Hempstead County rose from 6.6 percent to 6.9 percent.

Lafayette County, however, saw its rate remain unchanged at 5.6 percent.

Ouachita County was another to have its unemployment rate decline, as the numbers went from 8.5 to 8.0 percent.

Pike County, though, followed the wrong path as its figures rose from 4.4 to 4.8 percent.

Overall, however, the unemployment rate across the state remained unchanged at 4.6 percent for May. The national figures fell one-tenth of a percentage point from 4.9 to 4.8 percent.

Looking at the standings based on unemployment figures, Benton County has the lowest numbers in Arkansas at 2.3 percent. Clark County comes in tied for third with Scott County at 2.6 percent.

Pike County enters the slate in 34th, with its 4.8 percent rate, while Lafayette County (5.6 percent) tips the scale at 46th.

Nevada County (5.9 percent) enters the list in 50th, while Columbia County (6.6 percent) is ranked 54th.

Hempstead County's 6.9 percent figure is good for 59th place, while Ouachita County is ranked 69th with an 8.0 percent number.

There is only one county in Arkansas with an unemployment rate in double figures. Lee County, 75th, has an 11.0 percent figure.

A total of eight counties have numbers between 2.0 and 2.9 percent. Another 10 come in from the 3.0 to 3.9 percent division.

There are 22 counties falling in the 4.0 to 4.9 percent bracket, while the 5.0 to 5.9 percent region is home to 10 counties.

Nine counties have jobless figures from 6.0 to 6.9 percent, with nine more in the 7.0 to 7.9 category.

Two counties (Ouachita and Mississippi) are counted in the 8.0 to 8.9 percent slot, and four (Jackson, Randolph, Bradley and Newton) comprise the 9.0 to 9.9 percent list. Again, Lee County is the only one with a jobless rate above 10 percent at 11 percent.

According to the ESD, the jobless rates for this May were lower in 61 counties than they were this time last year. However, the rates were higher in 10 counties and the same in four.

Checking the Metropolitan Statistical Areas (MSAs), the Fayetteville-Rogers-Springdale MSA again has the lowest unemployment numbers at 2.6 percent

And, once again, the Pine Bluff MSA has the highest jobless rate at 6.8 percent.

Next comes the Little Rock-North Little Rock MSA at 3.3 percent, while the Jonesboro MSA registered 3.6 percent. The Fort Smith MSA was recorded at 4.3 percent.