Nevada County Picayune and Gurdon Times Newspaper Archive

County's Jobless Rate Stands At 2%

Once again, Clark County has the bragging rights with the lowest unemployment rate in the state.

According to the Employment Security Division, Clark County's jobless figures were a flat 2.0 percent for October, down from September's 2.1 percent.

Most surrounding counties saw their figures remain the same from September to October. One had higher rates, while two recorded declines.

Dallas County remained the same at 6.8 percent, with Hot Spring County staying at 4.4 percent.

Montgomery County enjoyed its 3.2 percent rate so much it stayed as well.

Nevada County enjoyed a drop in its jobless figures from 7.9 percent in September to 7.4 percent in October. Ouachita County, meanwhile, saw its rate fall from 10.4 percent to 9.9 percent.

The lone county in the area with a higher jobless rate was Pike County, climbing from 5.0 to 5.4 percent.

Looking at rankings based on these figures, Clark County is first.

Montgomery County follows closely in sixth place, while Hot Spring County is rated 28th.

In spite of the increase, Pike County is rated 38th in the state. Dallas County comes in ranked 52nd, while Nevada County is 57th.

Ouachita County enters in 73rd place.

Clark, Washington, Saline and Scott counties have jobless figures from 2.0 to 2.9 percent.

There are 16 counties with figures falling in the 3.0 to 3.9 division, and another 14 coming in at 4.0 to 4.9 percent.

Thirteen more have unemployment numbers from 5.0 to 5.9 percent, and the 6.0 to 6.9 bracket holds six counties.

There are 11 counties with figures from 7.0 to 7.9 percent. Hempstead, Mississippi, Phillips, Prairie and Izard counties fall in the 8.0 to 8.9 region.

St. Francis, Lee, Bradley and Ouachita counties make up the 9.0 to 9.9 segment.

Jackson County shows an 11.2 percent jobless rate, with Randolph County having the highest unemployment in the state at 12.8 percent.

According to ESD figures, Arkansas' seasonally adjusted unemployment rate rose 0.2 of a percent between September and October, pushing the figure to 5.5 percent.

However, the national rate remained the same, and stands at 5.2 percent.

Examining the state's four Metropolitan Statistical Areas (MSAs), the Fayetteville-Rogers-Springdale MSA has the lowest rate at 3 percent.

Once again, the Pine Bluff MSA recorded the highest jobless rate at 7.7 percent.

The Little Rock-North Little Rock MSA was 3.5 percent, while the Fort Smith MSA was 4.7 percent.