Fort Smith metro jobless rate rises in May

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by The City Wire staff ([email protected]) June 30, 2010 10:22 am 59 views 

A drop in the overall civilian labor force and an increase in the number of unemployed pushed the Fort Smith metro unemployment rate from 7.6% in April to 7.8% in May.

All May figures are preliminary and subject to revision.

According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics report released Wednesday (June 30), the number of unemployed in the Fort Smith metro area was 10,500 in May, down 3.3% compared May 2009 and up 63% over the 6,439 unemployed in May 2008.

The May increase followed three consecutive months of declines in the metro area unemployment rate.

The number of employed totaled 123,420 in May 2010, down 0.37% from the 123,883 in April 2010, and down 1.9% from the 125,842 employed in May 2009.

Civilian labor force levels in the metro area dropped 0.16% to 133,920 in May compared to April. The May labor force is also 2% lower than the 136,707 in May 2009.

As in the past three months, the one small piece of good news for the Fort Smith metro area is that manufacturing jobs have held steady following a decline that began in early 2006 and leveled off in late 2009. The May report shows 21,500 metro manufacturing jobs, up from the 21,400 from April 2010. The manufacturing sector has trended upward since January when the job count was 21,300.

Unfortunately, May manufacturing jobs were 2.7% fewer than May 2009. Employment in the sector is down 29.9% from a decade ago when January 2001 manufacturing employment in the metro area stood at 30,700.

Also, the improving trend in the metro manufacturing sector may fall victim to the 205 layoffs planned in 2010 at Trane’s Fort Smith plant. The Trane plant will see 123 jobs cuts no later than Aug. 2, according to a letter sent (June 23 from Trane officials to the city of Fort Smith. Another 76 layoffs will hit by September, with 6 layoffs planned in December.

NATIONAL PERSPECTIVE
Unemployment rates were higher in May than a year earlier in 222 of the 372 metro areas, lower in 141 areas, and unchanged in 9 areas, according to the BLS report. Thirteen areas had jobless rates of at least 15%, while 9 areas posted rates below 5%.

In May, 124 metro areas reported jobless rates of at least 10%, up from 107 areas a year earlier, while 70 areas posted rates below 7%, down from 91 areas in May 2009.

The U.S. jobless rate was 9.7% in May, up from 9.9% in April. The U.S. jobless rate in May 2009 was 9.4%.

Arkansas’ unemployment rate was 7.7% in May, down from 7.8% in April and higher than the 7.2% in May 2009. The Oklahoma unemployment rate in May was 6.7%, up  from 6.6% in April and up from the 6.5% in May 2009.

ARKANSAS METRO AREAS
Fayetteville-Springdale-Rogers
May 2010: 6.1%
May 2009: 5.9%
April 2010: 6%

Fort Smith
May 2010: 7.8%
May 2009: 7.9%
April 2010: 7.6%

Hot Springs
May 2010: 7.6%
May 2009: 7%
April 2010: 7.7%

Jonesboro
May 2010: 7.3%
May 2009: 6.7%
April 2010: 7.1%

Little Rock-North Little Rock-Conway
May 2010: 6.8%
May 2009: 6.1%
April 2010: 6.7%

Memphis-West Memphis
May 2010: 10.2%
May 2009: 9.7%
April 2010: 10.4%

Pine Bluff
May 2010: 9.1%
May 2009: 8.7%
April 2010: 9.2%

Texarkana
May 2010: 7.4%
May 2009: 5.9%
April 2010: 7.4%

FORT SMITH METRO AREA HISTORY
Past annual average unemployment rates
2009: 7.9%
2008: 4.8%
2007: 5.3%
2006: 4.9%
2005: 4.5%
2004: 5.2%
2003: 5.5%
2002: 5%
2001: 4.2%
2000: 3.7%