Northwest Arkansas Jobless Rate Up Over Previous Year

The unemployment rate in Fayetteville-Springdale-Rogers Metropolitan Statistical Area has remained relatively steady over the past few months, increasing just slightly from 5.2 percent in September to 5.3 percent in October. The rate is considerably higher than it was a year ago, however, when the October jobless rate was 3.6 percent.

The biggest drop in employment over the previous year was in the number of government jobs. There were 29,900 government jobs in October 2008 and 28,000 jobs in October 2009, a 6.4 percent drop. There was a 4.4 percent drop in manufacturing jobs, with 31,500 jobs in October 2008 and 30,100 jobs in October 2009. There were gains in employment from the previous October in professional and business services (0.9 percent), education and health services (5 percent) and leisure and hospitality (0.5 percent).

The MSA had the lowest October unemployment rate in the state. Fort Smith had a jobless rate of 7.8 percent in October. Hot Springs had a 6.6 percent jobless rate, Jonesboro a 6.2 percent rate and Little Rock had a 6.9 percent rate. The highest in the state was Pine Bluff, with an 8.8 percent jobless rate in October.