Officials comment on jump in local jobless rate
by March 23, 2009 7:42 pm 55 views
Two local economic development and business leaders aren’t too alarmed by a recent uptick in the Fort Smith regional unemployment rate.
The preliminary January unemployment rate for the Fort Smith region spiked to 7.7%, up from 6.1% in December, and up significantly over 5.9% in January 2008.
Rusty Myers, economic development director for the Western Arkansas Planning and Development District (WAPDD), said the monthly rates are often revised by the U.S. Department of Labor in subsequent months. In an e-mail note to The City Wire, Myers advised against placing “too much importance on recently released statistics.”
He did note that continued trouble in the Fort Smith regional manufacturing sector will result in a continued decline in retail, warehousing and financial services jobs.
“These sectors are particularly susceptible to the depressed, national economic situation and to the decline locally in manufacturing employment, which is basic to the area’s economy and its overall health,” Myers explained.
WAPPD recently received $1.5 million in extra funding to support worker retraining programs in Crawford, Franklin, Logan, Polk, Scott and Sebastian counties. Specifically, the money can be used to retrain laid-off workers and retrain adults in low- to moderate income households.
Sandy Sanders, interim president of the Fort Smith Regional Chamber of Commerce, said the only good news in the report is that it could influence companies to seek out the region for the available workforce.
“Don’t get me wrong, that’s not a good report,” Sanders said of the unemployment number. “But if there is ever a silver lining in increased unemployment, having that (available workforce) would be it.”
Sanders said there are a few economic development prospects “in the system,” including the April 10 visit from business officials from Japan.
“Even if a portion of those come through, we could be looking at 300 to 500 jobs,” Sanders said. “But we can’t count on those … because all that, as you know, comes with a chance that it could all fall through.”