Arkansas Nonfarm Jobs Up, Unemployment Down

Arkansas was up slightly for total nonagricultural jobs for the third quarter of 2004 compared to the third quarter of 2003.

Statewide, nonfarm employment was up eight-tenths of a percent for the quarter, trailing 1.3 percent for the country and beating the 0.6 percent for the Eighth District of the U.S. Federal Reserve Bank in St. Louis, which takes in portions of seven states.

The Fed published the first-quarter numbers in January.

Arkansas showed its highest growth in the third quarter in the education and health services sector with a positive 3 percent change, compared to the U.S. mean of a 2.2 percent change. This is consistent with a trend from at least the first quarter of 2004.

Arkansas’ largest lag was in manufacturing jobs, with a negative 0.7 percent change, which was greater than the negative 0.3 percent change nationally.

Unemployment statistics released March 1 by the Arkansas Employment Security Department said that more than 1.2 million Arkansans held jobs in January, up 700 from December and 31,500 from one year ago. The state unemployment rate had dropped to 5.4 percent. It was 5.6 percent in December and 5.7 percent in January 2004.

The AESD’s numbers said that year over year, the state added 4,000 workers to the educational and health services sector, and only 100 to the information sector.