Arkansas’ February jobless rate rises year-over-year to 3.6%

A more than 24% year-over-year increase in Arkansans without jobs and slower pace of job growth helped pushed the state’s February jobless rate to 3.6%, up from 2.9% in February 2023. The February rate was below the January rate of 3.7%.

The number of employed in Arkansas during February was an estimated 1,335,661, up 6,481 jobs, or 0.5%, compared with February 2023, and above the 1,334,556 in January, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) report posted Friday (Dec. 22). The February numbers are preliminary and subject to revision.

Arkansas’ labor force, the number of people eligible to work, in February was 1,385,107, up 1.2% from the 1,368,880 in February 2023, and below the 1,385,367 in January. The state’s labor force participation rate in January was 57.4%, unchanged from February 2023.

Arkansans without jobs in February totaled 49,446, down from the 50,811 in January, and up 24.5% compared with the 39,700 in February 2023.

The biggest year-over-year sector gains were in Education and Health Services (7,700 more jobs) and Construction (6,700 more jobs), February saw record employment in the Education and Health Services, Leisure and Hospitality, Construction and Trade, Transportation and Utilities sectors.

Michael Pakko, chief economist and state economic forecaster at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock’s Institute for Economic Advancement, noted that Arkansas’ job growth has lagged that of the nation.

“Over the past twelve months, we’ve seen expansion across most service-providing sectors. In the goods-producing sectors, growth has been strong in construction employment, but manufacturing employment is down. Total employment growth over the past twelve months has been 15,400 jobs – about 1.1% growth. Over the same period, U.S. payroll employment growth was approximately 1.8%,” Pakko wrote in his Arkansas Economist blog.

NATIONAL NUMBERS
Unemployment rates were higher in February in 3 states, lower in 3 states, and stable in 44 states, according to the BLS report. Twenty-eight states had jobless rate increases from a year earlier, 3 states had decreases, and 19 states had little change. The U.S. jobless rate was 3.9% in February, up from 3.6% in February 2023.

Nonfarm payroll employment increased in 4 states and was essentially unchanged in 46 states in February 2024. Over the year, nonfarm payroll employment increased in 25 states and was essentially unchanged in 25 states.

North Dakota had the lowest jobless rate in February at 2%. The next lowest rate was in South Dakota at 2.1%. California had the highest rate at 5.3%, followed by Nevada at 5.2%. In total, 22 states had unemployment rates lower than the U.S. figure of 3.9%, 6 states had higher rates, and 22 states had rates that were not appreciably different from that of the nation.

JOB SECTOR NUMBERS
Trade, Transportation, and Utilities
February 2024: 268,100
January 2023: 268,600
February 2023: 267,300
January marked an employment record for the sector.

Government
February 2024: 212,000
January 2023: 211,900
February 2023: 209,100
Sector employment hit a peak of 224,100 in May 2010.

Education and Health Services
February 2024: 212,800
January 2023: 211,700
February 2023: 205,100
February marked an employment record for the sector.

Manufacturing
February 2024: 159,200
January 2023: 159,900
February 2023: 163,300
Manufacturing, once the state’s largest jobs sector, posted record employment of 247,600 in February 1995.

Professional and Business Services
February 2024: 156,600
January 2023: 156,800
February 2023: 156,900
May 2023 marked an employment record for the sector with 158,100 jobs.

Leisure and Hospitality
February 2024: 128,100
January 2023: 127,300
February 2023: 127,000
February marked an employment record for the sector.

Financial Activities
February 2024: 71,400
January 2023: 70,800
February 2023: 70,300
February marked an employment record for the sector.

Construction
February 2024: 68,200
January 2023: 67,500
February 2023: 61,500
February marked a new employment record for the sector.