Fort Smith metro area unemployment rate dips

Believe it or not, the Fort Smith Metropolitan Statistical Area ranked third among all 369 U.S. metro areas based on the November 2008-November 2007 decline in the regional unemployment rate. It’s important to clarify that the ranking is based on the amount of decline in the year-over-year period, and not the unemployment rate.

According to a recent report from the federal Bureau of Labor Statistics, the unemployment rate in the Fort Smith metro area (LeFlore and Sequoyah counties in Oklahoma and Crawford, Franklin and Sebastian counties in Arkansas) declined from 5.3% in November 2007 to 5.2% in November 2008.

The Charleston, W.V., metro area ranked first with a rate decline in the same period of 3.7% to 3.4%. The Jonesboro area ranked second with a rate decline of 4.9% to 4.7%.

The Morgantown, W.V., metro area tied with Fort Smith for the third place ranking, seeing its rate decline from 2.9% to 2.8%.

The Fort Smith area ranking is welcome news considering the more than 1,300 area layoffs announced in the last three months of 2008.

Ames, Iowa, metro area rounded out the top five with a unemployment that held a steady 2.7% in the November 2007 to November 2008 period.

Arkansas Metro area unemployment rates, November 2008 – November 2007
(The number in parenthesis is the national rank among the 369 metro areas.)

(2) Jonesboro: 4.7%, November 2008; 4.9% November 2007
(3) Fort Smith: 5.2%, November 2008; 5.3% November 2007
(6) Hot Springs: 5.2%, 5.1%
(9) Little Rock-North Little Rock: 4.4%, 4.2%
(13) Fayetteville-Springdale-Rogers: 3.9%, 3.6%
(26) Texarkana, Texas-Ark.: 5.1%, 4.5%
(26) Pine Bluff: 7.3%, 6.7%
(131) Memphis-West Memphis: 6.9%, 5.3%