State Jobless Rate Jumps As Labor Force Continues To Decline

Arkansas’ August unemployment rate rose from the previous month one-tenth of a percent to 6.3%. The rate was two-tenths of a point higher than the U.S. jobless rate, but was far below the 7.7% rate one year ago.

The overall workforce, number of employed and those who were unemployed all fell significantly year-over-year, but the number of unemployed rose by 700 from the previous month.

Arkansas’ overall civilian labor force stood at 1,296,200 in August 2014, down 2,100 from July and 28,600 from August 2013.

The number of employed Arkansans was 1,214,400 during the month, a 2,800 decrease from July and a 8,400 decrease from the previous August.

Unemployed workers in August rose to 81,800 compared to 81,100 in July and 102,000 a year ago, which indicated a drop of 20,200 from the jobless ranks.

“The drop in employment triggered the rise in the unemployment rate in August. This is the first time that the state’s unemployment rate increased in 2014,” said Arkansas Department of Workforce Services communications director Becky Heflin.

In the accompanying Monthly Survey of Employers, several categories experienced job growth. Government employment was most noticeable adding 2,800 jobs in the month, but that was due to seasonal teaching and education personnel in public schools returning to work.

Construction jobs have grown by 3,600 during the past 12 months,while manufacturing has been booming adding 3,200 new jobs. Professional and business services has seen a gain of 2,300 jobs in the past year, and education and health services have added 3,100 workers. Leisure and hospitality has also made major gains adding 3,200 jobs year-over-year.

The biggest declining sectors have been information and financial services, which have seen drops in employment of 600 and 400 workers, respectively.

You can read the full report here.