Nevada County Picayune and Gurdon Times Newspaper Archive

Unemployment Up Slightly For Month

Nevada County's unemployment rate rose slightly from November to December, from 6.0 percent to 6.1 percent.

According to information from the Arkansas Employment Security Division, surrounding counties saw their jobless numbers vary, with most rising somewhat.

Clark County was an exception as its unemployment figures fell from 2.4 percent in November to 2.2 percent in December.

In Columbia County, the numbers went from 6.0 to 6.3 percent, while Hempstead County saw a minuscule decline from 7.5 percent to 7.4 percent.

Lafayette County's figures remained the same at 7.2 percent for the reporting period. Ouachita County's unemployment rate also stayed the same, at 9.4 percent for both months.

Pike County, on the other hand, had a full percentage point rise, as it went from 5.1 percent in November to 6.1 percent in December.

Looking at county rankings based on unemployment figures, Clark County, again, has the lowest jobless rate in the state with it's 2.2 percent.

Nevada County is ranked number 40 of the state's 75 counties, and is tied with Pike County at 6.1 percent. Columbia County is rated 44th, with Lafayette County entering the chart at number 52.

Hempstead County is 56th, while Ouachita County is 66th.

Once again, Randolph County has the worst problem with unemployment in Arkansas with a 13.2 percent rating.

There are four counties with jobless figures from 2.0 to 2.9 percent: Clark (2.2), Benton (2.5), Washington (2.6) and Saline (2.7).

Seven counties show unemployment rates from 3.0 to 3.9 percent, with another 18 falling into the 4.0 to 4.9 division.

The 5.0 to 5.9 bracket has 10 counties, while there are 10 counties recording figures from 6.0 to 6.9 percent.

Eleven counties are housed in the 7.0 to 7.9 category, with three recording 8.0 to 8.9 percent jobless rates.

Four counties show unemployment figures between 9.0 and 9.9 percent, with another four in the 10.0 to 10.9 division.

Lee and Phillips counties have unemployment rates of 11.1 percent, while Jackson County's rate is 12.0 percent. Randolph County, as earlier stated, has the highest unemployment problem in the state as 13.2 percent of its available work force is in need of gainful employment.

According to the ESD, Arkansas' seasonally adjusted jobless rate dropped from 5.2 percent in November to 4.9 percent in December. This is about a half-point less than the national figure of 5.3 percent.

Checking the state's four Metropolitan Statistical Areas (MSAs), the Fayetteville-Rogers-Springdale MSA has the lowest jobless figures at 2.6 percent. Once again, the Pine Bluff MSA is the highest, recording 7.2 percent. The Little Rock-North Little Rock MSA figures are at 3.5 percent, while the Fort Smith MSA unemployment rate is 5.1 percent.