Job losses, building sector gains part of weekly economic review

Fort SmithNews on the Wire

by The City Wire staff ([email protected]) March 6, 2009 4:10 pm 53 views 

The City Wire economic review for the week of Mar. 2 – Mar. 6:

REGIONAL/STATE
• The declines seen in new and existing home sales in late 2008 have clearly continued into 2009, with the number of homes sold in January in Crawford, Franklin and Sebastian counties dropping 27.3% compared to January 2008. Statewide, the number of homes sold in January 2009 was 1,108, down 27% from January 2008, according to a report released Thursday (Mar. 5) by the Arkansas Realtors Association.

• January hospitality tax collections in Van Buren totaled $30,291, down 4.7% compared to January 2008.

• Slow market conditions have once again forced Fort Smith-based Riverside Furniture to shed jobs. The furniture manufacturing and distribution company will shed 58 jobs — 43 in Fort Smith and 15 in Russellville — beginning April 27.

• Don’t tell the building sector in Sebastian County there is a national recession. Greenwood had 11 building permits for a value of $2.971 million in February, a value up more than 369% over February 2008, and up 153% over January. February permits issued in Fort Smith had a total value of $11.97 million, up 99.9% over February 2008.

• Fort Smith-based Boyd Metals announced Tuesday it will build a $6 million manufacturing and distribution plant at a 10-acre site near the Port of Little Rock. The new operation is expected to employ 46 when operational.

• Arkansas’ year-to-date gross collections total $3.574 billion, an increase of $95.4 million, or 2.7% above last year, according to a report from the Arkansas Department of Finance & Administration.

NATIONAL
• The U.S. unemployment rate jumped to 8.1% in February, according to the federal Department of Labor. The January rate was 7.6%. Construction companies cut 104,000 jobs, manufacturers cut 168,000 jobs and business and professional services cut 180,000 jobs in February.

• After three months of decline, consumer borrowing rose in January, the Federal Reserve reported Friday. Analysts saw the rise as a sign of returning consumer confidence, good news considering that consumer spending generates about 70% of U.S. economic activity.

• Reacting to continued bad news about unemployment, the housing sector and global credit problems, the Dow Jones Industrial Average traded below 6,500 on Thursday, the first time it hit that level in 12 years.