Arkansas’ August job numbers up 1.8%, jobless numbers dip 1.14%

Net annual Arkansas job growth rose 1.8% in August, and the number of unemployed in the state fell 1.14%. The state’s August jobless rate was 3.3%, unchanged compared to July and below the 3.4% in August 2023.

The number of employed in Arkansas during August was an estimated 1,358,748, up 23,681 jobs, or 1.8%, compared with August 2023, and above the 1,354,632 in July, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) report posted Friday (Sept. 20). The August numbers are preliminary and subject to revision.

Arkansas’ labor force, the number of people eligible to work, in August was 1,405,456, up 1.7% from the 1,335,067 in August 2023, and above the 1,354,632 in July. The state’s labor force participation rate in August was 58%, up from 57.6% in August 2023.

Arkansans without jobs in August totaled 46,708, down from the 46,762 in July, and down 1.14% compared with the 47,248 in August 2023.

The biggest year-over-year sector gains were in Education and Health Services (9,000 more jobs) Professional and Business Services (5,000 more jobs, and Construction (3,800 more jobs).

NATIONAL NUMBERS
Unemployment rates were higher in August compared with July in 6 states and the District of Columbia, lower in 1 state, and stable in 43 states, according to the BLS report. Twenty-five states and the District had jobless rate increases from a year earlier, 4 states had decreases, and 21 states had little change. The national unemployment rate changed little over the month at 4.2 percent but was 0.4 percentage point higher than in August 2023.

Twenty-five states and the District of Columbia had unemployment rate increases from August 2023, and four states had over-the-year rate decreases.

South Dakota had the lowest jobless rate in August at 2%, followed by Vermont at 2.2%, and North Dakota at 2.3%. The District of Columbia had the highest unemployment rate at 5.7%, followed by Nevada at 5.5%. In total, 27 states had unemployment rates lower than the U.S. rate of 4.2%, 4 states and the District had higher rates, and 19 states had rates that were not appreciably different from that of the nation.

JOB SECTOR NUMBERS
Trade, Transportation, and Utilities
August 2024: 270,100
July 2024: 268,800
August 2023: 267,300
August marked a new employment record for the sector.

Government
August 2024: 212,800
July 2024: 212,900
August 2023: 211,100
Sector employment hit a peak of 224,100 in May 2010.

Education and Health Services
August 2024: 217,900
July 2024: 216,300
August 2023: 208,900
August marked an employment record for the sector.

Manufacturing
August 2024: 163,000
July 2024: 162,000
August 2023: 162,900
Manufacturing, once the state’s largest jobs sector, posted record employment of 247,600 in February 1995.

Professional and Business Services
August 2024: 161,400
July 2024: 160,400
August 2023: 155,400
August marked an employment record for the sector.

Leisure and Hospitality
August 2024: 125,400
July 2024: 127,400
August 2023: 127,000
March marked an employment record for the sector with 130,200 jobs.

Financial Activities
August 2024: 71,900
July 2024: 71,900
August 2023: 69,900
July first marked an employment record for the sector.

Construction
August 2024: 67,200
July 2024: 66,500
August 2023: 63,400
February first marked an employment record for the sector with 68,000 jobs.