Nevada County Picayune and Gurdon Times Newspaper Archive

Leads State With Lowest Figures

It's getting to be a bit redundant, but this is the kind of redundancy most people don't mind.

Once again, Clark County has the lowest unemployment rate in the state of Arkansas. According to figures from the Arkansas Employment Security Division (ESD), Clark County's jobless rate is 2.2 percent, down from 2.4 percent.

With the exception of Ouachita County, which remained unchanged at 9.4 percent for the reporting period, all counties surrounding Clark saw their jobless figures rise.

In Dallas County, the numbers jumped from 7.3 percent to 8.0 percent, while Hot Spring County rose from 4.7 to 5.7 percent.

Montgomery County's rate climbed from 4.0 to 4.7 percent, with Nevada County seeing the smallest rise of all, going from 6.0 to 6.1 percent. Pike County also jumped a full percentage point, from 5.1 to 6.1 percent.

Once again, Clark County is ranked first of Arkansas' 75 counties, with the 2.2 percent numbers.

Montgomery County enters the chart in 23rd place, while Hot Spring County is rated 36th.

Nevada and Pike counties are tied in 40th position, while Dallas County ranks 61 of 75 and Ouachita County comes in at number 66.

Randolph County remains in last place with the state's highest jobless rate at 13.2 percent.

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

Seven counties record numbers from 3.0 to 3.9 percent, with 18 counties in the 4.0 to 4.9 bracket.

The 5.0 to 5.9 division encompasses 10 counties, as does the 6.0 to 6.9 category.

There are 11 counties with jobless rates from 7.0 to 7.9 percent, and another three in the 8.0 to 8.9 region. There are also three counties with unemployment figures from 9.0 to 9.9 percent.

Desha (10.0%), St. Francis (10.1%), Bradley (10.4%) and Prairie (10.5%), are the four counties falling in the 10.0 to 10.9 percent unemployment slot.

Lee and Phillips counties, each recording numbers of 11.1 percent, are the two in the 11.0 to 11.9 division. Jackson County has a jobless rate of 12.0 percent, while Randolph County is 75th at 13.2 percent.

Arkansas' seasonally adjusted unemployment rate declined three-tenths of a percentage point between November and December, according to the ED, to 4.9 percent. The national unemployment rate remained the same at 5.3 percent.

Looking at the state's four Metropolitan Statistical Areas (MSAs), the Fayetteville-Springdale-Rodgers MSA has the lowest unemployment rate again at 2.6 percent. And, again, the Pine Bluff MSA is at the opposite end of the spectrum at 7.2 percent. The Little Rock-North Little Rock MSA stands at 3.5 percent, while the Fort Smith MSA is 5.1 percent.