Arkansas’ jobless rate at 3.4% in January, up from 3.2% in January 2022

The number of jobless Arkansans rose 6.3% in January while the number of those with jobs rose just 0.88% compared with January 2022, which pushed the state’s jobless rate up from 3.2% in January 2022, to 3.4% in January.

The number of employed in Arkansas during January was an estimated 1,326,923, up 11,599 jobs, or 0.88%, compared with January 2022, and above the 1,325,681 in December, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) report posted Monday (March 13). The January numbers are preliminary and subject to revision.

Arkansas’ labor force, the number of people eligible to work, in January was 1,373,511, up 1.05% from the 1,359,125 in January 2022, and just above the 1,373,033 in December. The state’s labor force participation rate was 57.4% in January, slightly better than the 57.3% in January 2021.

Arkansans without jobs in January totaled 46,588, below the 47,352 in December, and 6.3% above the 43,801 in January 2022.

The biggest year-over-year sector gains were in Trade, Transportation and Utilities (11,500 more jobs), Education an Health Services (8,700 more jobs) and Leisure and Hospitality (7,300 more jobs). January saw record employment in four large job categories: Trade, Transportation and Utilities, Education and Health Services, Leisure and Hospitality, and Construction.

NATIONAL NUMBERS
Unemployment rates were lower in January in 5 states, higher in 2 states and the District of Columbia, and stable in 43 states, according to the BLS. Fifteen states and the District had jobless rate decreases from a year earlier, 11 states had increases, and 24 states had little change. The national unemployment rate of 3.4% was lower than the 4% in January 2022.

North Dakota and South Dakota had the lowest jobless rates in January at 2.1% each. The next lowest rates were in Utah at 2.4%, and Montana and Nebraska at 2.5% each. Nevada had the highest rate at 5.5%. In total, 13 states had jobless rates lower than the U.S. figure of 3.4%, 11 states and the District of Columbia had higher rates, and 26 states had rates that were not appreciably different from that of the nation.

JOB SECTOR NUMBERS
Trade, Transportation, and Utilities
January 2023: 276,000
December 2022: 274,600
January 2022: 264,500
January marked a new employment record for the sector employment.

Government
January 2023: 208,500
December 2022: 208,500
January 2022: 207,500
Sector employment hit a peak of 224,100 in May 2010.

Education and Health Services
January 2023: 203,900
December 2022: 202,600
January 2022: 195,200
January marked a new employment record for the sector employment.

Manufacturing
January 2023: 164,400
December 2022: 164,000
January 2022: 159,400
Manufacturing, once the state’s largest jobs sector, posted record employment of 247,600 in February 1995.

Professional and Business Services
January 2023: 152,700
December 2022: 150,900
January 2022: 149,700
Sector employment set a record of 156,300 in September 2022.

Leisure and Hospitality
January 2023: 127,800
December 2022: 125,600
January 2022: 120,500
January marked a new employment record for the sector employment.

Financial Activities
January 2023: 70,300
December 2022: 71,100
January 2022: 69,200
The sector had record employment of 71,500 in September 2022.

Construction
January 2023: 59,500
December 2022: 59,000
January 2022: 56,600
January marked a new employment record for the sector employment.