Arkansas Employment Picture Rises For Fourth Straight Month

Enjoying four consecutive months of employment gains, Arkansas’ jobless rate fell to 7.7% in December.

The Arkansas Department of Workforce Services said the state’s unemployment rate fell two-tenths of a percent from November 2011. The December 2010 state jobless rate was 7.9%.

U.S. unemployment in December 2011 was 8.5%, also down two-tenths of a percent.

DWS statistics show that Arkansas’ civilian labor force increased 3,100, a result of 6,300 more employed and 3,200 fewer unemployed Arkansans. The total number of employed Arkansans settled at 1,262,700 in December 2011. That was a net change of 8,800 total jobs from one year ago.

Gov. Mike Beebe (D) said that he was pleased with the downward trend of the last few months, but was nowhere near satisfied that normalcy had returned to the Arkansas jobs market.

“It’s nice to see the trend in the unemployment figures going down. 7.7 [percent] is still too high. We’ve still got to fight like the devil every time we can to create more jobs,” Beebe said.

SECTOR GAINERS AND LOSERS
Since December 2010, nonfarm payroll employment in Arkansas rose by 7,700 workers.

Nine major industry sectors added jobs, with four sectors gaining 1,400 or more jobs each. Government job growth was attributed mostly to increased personnel at public schools in high-growth areas, while manufacturing employment has fallen significantly in the last 12 months.

Educational/Health +3,500
Government +3,200
Leisure/Hospitality +1,400
Financial +1,200
Construction +300
Mining/Logging +200
Trade/Transportation +300
Professional/Business +100
Manufacturing -4,100