Nevada County Picayune and Gurdon Times Newspaper Archive

Unemployment Rate Falls

There's more good news for Clark County on the unemployment front.

The jobless rate for the county in April fell from 3.1 percent to 2.9 percent.

With the exception of Dallas County, these figures dropped in all surrounding counties. Dallas County, though, saw its unemployment numbers rise from 7.4 percent to 7.9 percent for the recording period, according to the Arkansas Employment Security Division.

Heading to Hot Spring County, the numbers dropped from 4.8 percent in March to 4.3 percent in April.

Montgomery County had a slight fall, going from 4.1 percent to 3.9 percent, while Nevada County's decline was from 5.6 percent to 5.0 percent.

Ouachita County had a solid decline, with its jobless figures sliding from 8.9 percent to 7.6 percent.

Pike County's numbers fell a full percentage point, going from 5.4 percent to 4.4 percent.

Looking at where the counties rank based on the jobless figures, Clark County enters the tally in ninth place.

Next up is Montgomery County, joining the ranks in 24th position, with Hot Spring County rated 33rd.

Pike County is close behind in 35th, while Nevada County enters the list at number 40.

Next up is Ouachita County in 64th, with Dallas County nipping at its heels in 65th place.

A total of 11 counties registered jobless rates from 2.0 to 2.9 percent for the recording period

There were 14 counties with unemployment rates from 3.0 to 3.9 percent.

Another 14 counties join the list with jobless figures from 4.0 to 4.9 percent, while 13 other counties comprised the 5.0 to 5.9 percent bracket.

Nine counties made up the 6.0 to 6.9 percent list, with four filling the gap in the 7.0 to 7.9 percent range.

Six counties were found with jobless figures from 8.0 to 8.9 percent, with only one falling in the 9.0 to 9.9 percent category.

Three counties made up the double-digit list, all within the 10.0 to 10.9 percent bracket. Those were, Mississippi (10.3), Bradley (10.4) and Woodruff (10.6).

The lowest jobless rate in the state belonged to Scott County, with a minuscule 2.0 percent figure.

Checking the state's five metropolitan statistical areas (MSAs), the Fayetteville-Rogers- Springdale MSA again has the lowest figure at 2.3 percent, down from March's 2.6 percent rate.

And, once again, the Pine Bluff MSA has the highest unemployment numbers at 6.6 percent, but this area did have a decline of 0.5 percent from 7.1 percent in March.

The Little Rock-North Little Rock MSA was second on the list with a 2.7 percent figure, down from 3.1 percent.

Jonesboro's MSA was next at 3.0 percent, also falling from 3.4 percent, with the Fort Smith MSA fourth on the list with a 3.7 percent figure, down from 4.3 percent a month earlier.

Arkansas' seasonally adjusted unemployment rate, according to the ESD, was 4.3 percent in April, down from 4.4 percent in March.

This was the lowest rate in the Bureau of Labor Statistic's seasonally adjusted series going back to 1978.

Nationally, the jobless rate rose slightly, climbing from 4.2 percent in March to 4.3 percent in April.