Arkansas year-over-year job numbers up 2.75% in June, jobless rate remains at 3.2%

With gains in the broad Trade, Transportation and Utilities sector and in manufacturing, Arkansas’ estimated year-over-year jobs were up 2.75% in June. However, with a slower rate of growth in the labor force, the June jobless rate remained at 3.2%.

The number of employed in Arkansas during June was an estimated 1,311,322, up 35,117 jobs, or 2.75%, compared with June 2021, and above the 1,309,277 in May, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) report posted Friday (July 22). The June numbers are preliminary and subject to revision.

Arkansas’ labor force, the number of people eligible to work, in June was 1,354,780, up 1.66% from the 1,332,580 in June 2021, and above the 1,352,042 in May. The state’s labor force participation rate was 57% in June, above the 56.6% in June 2021.

Arkansans without jobs in June totaled 43,458, above the 42,770 in May, but below the 56,375 in June 2021. The biggest year-over-year sector gains were in Trade, Transportation & Utilities (11,500 more jobs), manufacturing (up 6,500 jobs), and Leisure & Hospitality (5,000 jobs).

NATIONAL NUMBERS
Unemployment rates were lower in June in 10 states and higher in 2 states, and stable in 38 states. All 50 states and the District had jobless rate decreases from a year earlier.

Minnesota had the lowest jobless rate in June at 1.8%, followed by Nebraska at 1.9%. The next lowest rates were in New Hampshire and Utah at 2% each. The rates in Minnesota and New Hampshire set new series lows, as did the rates in the following six states (all state series begin in 1976): Alabama (2.6%), Georgia (2.9%), Kentucky (3.7%), Louisiana (3.8%), Mississippi (3.8 %), and Missouri (2.8%).

The District of Columbia had the highest jobless rate at 5.5%, followed by New Mexico at 4.9%. In total, 20 states had unemployment rates lower than the U.S. figure of 3.6%, 10 states and the District had higher rates, and 20 states had rates that were not appreciably different from that of the nation.

JOB SECTOR NUMBERS
Trade, Transportation, and Utilities
June 2022: 265,500
May 2022: 264,300
June 2021: 254,000
Sector employment set a record of 267,700 in March 2022.

Government
June 2022: 208,00
May 2022: 208,800
June 2021: 205,100
Sector employment hit a peak of 224,100 in May 2010.

Education and Health Services
June 2022: 198,300
May 2022: 194,500
June 2021: 195,500
June employment marked a new record for the sector.

Manufacturing
June 2022: 163,400
May 2022: 162,900
June 2021: 156,500
Manufacturing, once the state’s largest jobs sector, posted record employment of 247,600 in July 1995.

Professional and Business Services
June 2022: 148,600
May 2022: 149,100
June 2021: 145,800
Sector employment set a record of 152,600 in January 2022.

Leisure and Hospitality
June 2022: 120,000
May 2022: 120,600
June 2021: 115,000
The sector first reached an employment record of 124,400 in February 2020.

Financial Activities
June 2022: 68,000
May 2022: 67,500
June 2021: 65,900
June employment marked a new record for the sector.

Construction
June 2022: 54,400
May 2022: 53,300
June 2021: 55,300
The sector reached record employment of 57,700 in February 2006.