15-city analysis shows mixed bag of economic indicators

Talk Business — a content  partner with The City Wire — issued on Wednesday (Aug. 25) an overview of the state economy based on economic conditions in the state’s 15 most populated cities.

Highlights of the report include:
• UNEMPLOYMENT
There should be no surprise that unemployment rose in many of the core cities in our Talk Business economic index. State unemployment trended higher in the second quarter of 2010 compared to 2009 and 13 of the 15 cities we profiled saw increases in the jobless rate.

Conway and El Dorado both saw small declines in their unemployment averages.

Conway’s unemployment has been in the low range of what we’ve seen in many locales, while El Dorado has had among the highest rate in the state due to the loss of a Pilgrim’s Pride plant last year.

Fort Smith was a bright spot in terms of the smallest percentage growth in unemployment — just 0.13% in Q2 — while West Memphis, with its proximity to the Memphis jobs market was hit hardest. The jobless rate rose in West Memphis  by 2.18% from March-May compared to last year’s similar time period.

• HOME SALES
Home sales were up in 14 of 15 communities profiled during the quarter we analyzed.  El Dorado, which has been devastated by the loss of a major employer, is the one exception. Home sales fell significantly in the south Arkansas community.

• NEW CONSTRUCTION ACTIVITY
Construction activity paints the muddiest picture of what’s happening in local economies. Generally speaking, about half of the communities in our profile of 15 are seeing increases in new residential construction, while the other half have seen a drop-off in residential building or are virtually unchanged from the previous year’s quarterly analysis.

Fort Smith is the steadiest of all 15 cities with both new residential and new commercial construction relatively at last year’s levels.

• LOCAL SALES TAX
Sales tax collections — a solid indicator of consumer spending, which accounts for nearly two-thirds of all economic activity — was slightly better in 8 of the 15 communities in our index. Compared to one year ago, 6 cities saw a decline in sales tax revenue collections. One community, Pine Bluff, was virtually unchanged.

Notably, there were improvements in sales tax collections in Bentonville, which saw a huge 13.7% spike compared to the previous year’s three-month period. Also, Hot Springs, which relies heavily on it tourism base, saw a respectable rise in sales tax revenue.

• BANKRUPTCIES
The bankruptcy picture is largely improved from one year ago when it was common to see triple-digit percentage increases in 2009 numbers over 2008. Comparing 2010 bankruptcy statistics to 2009, 8 cities saw an increase in bankruptcy filings though mostly in the single-digit or small double-digit percentage category. Rogers was an exception with an 84.4% increase in bankruptcies.



Link here for a PDF document that provides more detail on the economic conditions of the 15 cities.