Northwest Arkansas Adds 8,600 Jobs, Holds Lowest Metro Jobless Rate at 3.6%
Updated
Updated · talkbusiness.net · Jul 31
Northwest Arkansas Adds 8,600 Jobs, Holds Lowest Metro Jobless Rate at 3.6%
3 articles · Updated · talkbusiness.net · Jul 31
Summary
Northwest Arkansas posted Arkansas’ strongest metro labor showing in June, with nonfarm employment up 8,600 from a year earlier to 308,600 and the lowest jobless rate among the state’s seven tracked metros at 3.6%.
That outperformance stood against broader cooling: four of the seven metros saw unemployment rates rise from a year earlier, Fort Smith was unchanged, and economist Michael Pakko said June payrolls fell from May in every Arkansas metro except Northwest Arkansas.
Central Arkansas added 2,600 jobs year over year to 396,000, Jonesboro gained 700 to 64,600, and Fort Smith was flat at 101,800, while Texarkana and Memphis/West Memphis tied for the highest June jobless rate at 4.8%.
Statewide, Arkansas had 1.343 million nonfarm jobs in June, up 4,700 from a year earlier, while the unemployment rate edged down to 4.1% from 4.2% in May but remained above 4.0% a year earlier.
The BLS said the June metro figures are preliminary and reflect recent methodology and county-definition revisions, underscoring a labor market where longer-term growth is increasingly concentrated in Northwest Arkansas, Central Arkansas and Jonesboro.