Arkansas jobless rate up to 3.6% in November, jobs up 1.07% year-over-year

Arkansas’ jobless rate was 3.6% in November, up from the 3.5% in October, but below the 3.7% in November 2018. Year-over-year, the state economy added 14,009 jobs, a 1.07% increase according to data posted Friday (Dec. 20) by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

The number of employed in Arkansas during November was an estimated 1,317,445, up 14,009 jobs compared with November 2018. The state’s labor force – the number of people eligible to work – was 1,366,004 in November up 0.95% compared with the 1,353,117 in November 2018. The November numbers are preliminary and subject to revision.

Arkansans without jobs in November totaled 48,559, down from 49,681 in November 2018 but higher than the 47,795 unemployed in October. Non-farm employment totaled 1,283,100 in November, ahead of the 1,267,200 in November 2018.

Sectors with the biggest year-over-year gains were Education and Health Services (3,400 new jobs), Construction (3,300) and Professional and Business Services (3,200). The Professional and Business Services sector has been a star in the Arkansas economy in the decade, according to Greg Kaza, economist and director of the Arkansas Policy Foundation. Job numbers in the Arkansas sector in the past 10 years are up 32.2%, better than the 31.1% nationwide.

“Jobs growth in Arkansas’ professional and business services sector continues to exceed the U.S. average in the current expansion,” Kaza noted.

Jobs in the Trade, Transportation, and Utilities sector – the state’s largest job category – was 254,600 in November, up from 254,400 in October and up from the 253,600 in November 2018. The sector hit an employment record of 253,900 in January.

The Government sector employed 213,000 in November, down from 213,200 in October and up from the 212,900 in November 2018. Sector employment hit a peak of 224,100 in May 2010.

The Education and Health Services sector employed 195,300 in November, up from the 194,200 in October and above the 191,900 in November 2018. November set a record for sector employment.

Arkansas’ manufacturing sector had 163,500 jobs, down from 163,800 in October but ahead of the 161,100 jobs in November 2018. Manufacturing, once the state’s largest jobs sector, has shed 84,100 jobs – down 34% – since reaching a record of 247,600 in February 1995. The sector reached a low of 152,000 jobs in July 2013.

Professional and Business Services employed 147,900 in November, up from 146,900 in October and up from 144,700 November 2018. The sector set a jobs record of 147,800 in May.

The state’s Leisure and Hospitality (tourism) sector had 122,800 jobs in November, down from 123,300 in October and above the 120,600 in November 2018. The sector reached a record for employment in September with 123,400 jobs.

Arkansas’ construction sector had 53,800 jobs in November, down from 53,900 in October and up from 50,500 in November 2018. The sector reached record employment of 57,700 in February 2006.

Vermont had the lowest unemployment rates in November at 2.3%. The rates in Alabama (2.7%), Alaska (6.1%), Georgia (3.3%), Illinois (3.8%), Oregon (3.9%), and South Carolina (2.4%) set new lows. (All state series begin in 1976.) Alaska had the highest jobless rate at 6.1%. The data also showed that 14 states had unemployment rates lower than the U.S. figure of 3.5%, 12 states and the District of Columbia had higher rates, and 24 states had rates that were not appreciably different from that of the nation.