Arkansas job numbers decline in November but jobless rate stays at 6.2%

Similar declines in the state’s available work force and the number of employed kept Arkansas’ November jobless rate at 6.2%, unchanged from October and well below the 3.5% in November 2019.

The number of employed in Arkansas during November was an estimated 1,244,877, down 71,264 jobs, or 5.4% lower, compared with November 2019, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. November employment was down 2,746 jobs compared with October. The year-over-year job losses are up compared to the 67,353 between October 2019 and October 2020.

The November numbers are preliminary and subject to revision. The report marked the eighth full month of COVID-19 impacts on the economy.

The state’s labor force – the number of people eligible to work – was 1,327,737 in November down 2.7% compared with the 1,364,338 in November 2019, and down 0.22% from the 1,330,662 in October.

Arkansans without jobs in November totaled 82,860, up 72% from the 48,190 in November 2019 but down from the 83,,039 unemployed in October. The state reached a peak of those without jobs of 140,898 in April. Sectors with the biggest year-over-year losses were Manufacturing (14,700 jobs lost) Leisure & Hospitality (down 12,500), and Government (down 8,200). The biggest job gainer was Trade, Transportation and Utilities with 11,400 more jobs year-over-year.

Forty-eight states and the District had jobless rate increases from a year earlier and two states had little change. Three states had unemployment rates above 10% in November: New Jersey at 10.2% and Hawaii and Nevada at 10.1% each. Nebraska and Vermont had the lowest rates, at 3.1% each.

JOB SECTOR NUMBERS
Jobs in the Trade, Transportation, and Utilities sector – the state’s largest job category – was 264,900 in November, up from 264,60 in October and up from the 253,500 in November 2019. The November employment set a new record for the sector.

The Government sector employed 200,800 in November, below the 202,300 in October and below the 210,500 in November 2019. Sector employment hit a peak of 224,100 in May 2010.

The Education and Health Services sector employed 186,300 in November, up from 185,400 in October and below the 194,500 in November 2019. February set a record for sector employment at 197,600.

Arkansas’ manufacturing sector had 147,400 jobs, up from 145,500 in October and down from the 162,100 jobs in November 2019. Manufacturing, once the state’s largest jobs sector, has shed 100,200 jobs – down 40.4% – since reaching a record of 247,600 in July 1995.

Professional and Business Services employed 147,200 in November, down from 146,700 in October and up from 145,900 November 2019. The sector had record employment of 148,000 in December 2019.

The state’s Leisure and Hospitality (tourism) sector had 106,900 jobs in November, up from 104,900 in October and 12,500 jobs below the 119,400 in November 2019. The sector reached an employment record of 120,800 in July 2019.

The Financial Activities sector had 60,500 jobs in November, down from 60,800 in October and down from the 62,100 in November 2019. The sector first hit record employment of 62,900 in August 2019.