Regional Report Shows Strengths, Weaknesses

The 2013 State of the Northwest Arkansas Region Report issued Wednesday shows continued growth in population, employment, business investment, overall economic production and academic research.

Compiled by the Center for Business and Economic Research at the University of Arkansas, the third annual study is the area’s report card used to dissect strengths and weaknesses and to guide decision makers as they plan the region’s future.

A copy of the report is available here.

While the report shows steady growth for the region, particularly in employment, it also highlights a few soft spots: adult educational attainment and the acquisition of federal research dollars.

A few key findings in the four-county region include a gross metro product of $17.2 billion, a population of 482,000, an unemployment rate of 5.6 percent and growth in the sectors of education and health, professional and business services, and leisure and hospitality. Declining sectors included mining, logging and construction, financial activities and manufacturing.

The Springdale-Fayetteville-Rogers MSA was compared to the peer metro areas of Tulsa, Knoxville, Tenn., Huntsville, Al., Omaha-Council Bluffs, Ne., and Kansas City.

While Northwest Arkansas outpaced its peers in terms of employment and compares well in regard to the increase in GDP, building permits, cost of living and violent crime, Northwest Arkansas doesn’t fare as well in adult educational attainment, per capita personal income, the poverty rate and new business establishment.

“The third annual State of the Northwest Region Report continues to serve as a tool for evaluating the economic performance of the region in comparison with peer regions that are most likely to compete with Northwest Arkansas, CBER director Kathy Deck said.

The Northwest Arkansas Council, an association of private business leaders, assists in the compilation of the report. The data is vital for a group like the council, which advocates for economic development here.

“We recognize [the report] doesn’t always show dramatic changes from year to year, but as long as the overall, long-term trend is one of improvement in key categories, we can feel good about how our region is advancing,” said Mike Malone, the council’s president and CEO.