Nevada County Picayune and Gurdon Times Newspaper Archive

Jobless Rate Stays The Same At 2.3%

For the second straight month, Clark County has the lowest unemployment figures in the state.

The county's jobless rate remained at 2.3 percent for May, tying Clark and Benton counties for the fewest citizens without jobs in Arkansas.

Surrounding counties, however, saw their rates rise and fall.

Columbia County's unemployment numbers climbed from 5.4 percent in April to 6.0 percent in May.

On the other hand, Dallas County was more fortunate as its jobless rate declined from 7.9 percent to 6.7 percent.

Hot Spring County recognized a slight drop from 4.3 to 4.1 percent, while Montgomery County remained stable at 3.9 percent for April and May.

Nevada County, though, watched its unemployment tally fall from 7.8 percent in April to 7.5 percent in May.

Ouachita County has climbed out of the state's cellar, with a decline in unemployment from 9.8 percent to 9.0 percent.

Pike County's jobless figures rose from 5.0 to 5.4 percent during the month.

An examination of the rankings sees Benton and Clark counties at the top with their 2.3 percent figures. Overall, there are eight counties with jobless rates from 2.0 to 2.9 percent.

Ten counties fall in the 3.0 to 3.9 bracket, while 16 counties are in the 4.0 to 4.9 percent division.

Another 15 counties have unemployment tally's from 5.0 to 5.9 percent, with five showing jobless rates from 6.0 to 6.9 percent.

The 7.0 to 7.9 percent category registers seven counties, with six counties having figures from 8.0 to 8.9 percent. Five counties fall in the 9.0 to 9.9 bracket, with two in the 10.0 to 10.9 region.

Randolph County has the state's highest unemployment rate with a 13.4 percent figure.

According to information from the Arkansas Employment Security Division, the state's seasonally adjusted unemployment rate was 4.6 percent for May, unchanged since April's figures.

Arkansas' jobless rate remains lower than the nation's seasonally adjusted figure, which was 5.6 percent.

A look at the state's four Metropolitan Statistical Areas (MSAs) shows the Fayetteville-Springdale-Rogers MSA with the lowest unemployment figures of the quartet with a 2.4 percent rate.

Next in line is the Little Rock-North Little Rock MSA with its 3.2 percent figures, while Fort Smith's MSA is next with a 4.9 percent rate.

Once again, the Pine Bluff MSA is last with 6.7 percent unemployment.

At this time last year, Clark County's jobless figures were not much higher than they currently are. In 1996, the unemployment rate in the county was 2.5 percent.