Fort Smith metro jobs in higher-paying sector down 7.2% in April

The April jobs report for the Fort Smith metro shows a more than 7% year-over-year decline in Professional and Business Services sector jobs. The sector includes some of the highest paying jobs in the region, according to federal data.

The Fort Smith metro had an estimated 101,800 nonfarm jobs in April, down 600 jobs, or 0.6%, compared with 102,400 jobs April 2025, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). The April numbers are subject to preliminary and subject to revision.

Regional employment remains below the peak of 108,700 in September 2007. The metro had 3,743 unemployed in April, up 7.2% from 3,493 in April 2025. The region’s jobless rate in April was 3.7%, up from 3.4% in April 2025.

Jobs in the Northwest Arkansas metro during April were up 2.4%, up 1.1% in the Jonesboro metro, and were unchanged compared with April 2025 in the central Arkansas (Little Rock) metro.

‘CLEAREST AREAS OF WEAKNESS’
The Professional and Business Services sector in the Fort Smith metro had an estimated 10,300 jobs in April, down 800 jobs, or 7.2%, compared with 11,100 jobs in April 2025. Sector jobs include accounting, legal, management, consulting, administrative support and other specialized fields. Arkansas’ average pay in the sector is around $66,300, well above the state average of $53,800 for all Arkansas job sectors, according to the BLS.

Kendall Ross, University of Arkansas at Fort Smith associate vice chancellor of Economic and Workforce Development, said the sector “remains one of the clearest areas of weakness in the Fort Smith metro.”

“While the April 2026 level of 10,300 jobs is not a record low over the past 25 years, it is well below the sector’s strong 2015–2018 performance, when employment often exceeded 12,000 jobs,” Ross noted in analysis provided to Talk Business & Politics. “Since the sector includes professional, technical, administrative, staffing, and business-support services, continued weakness may point to fewer higher-skill office opportunities and some erosion in the metro’s broader business infrastructure. The sector remains below pre-COVID levels, suggesting it hasn’t fully recovered from the disruption and longer-term softening that followed.”

Using federal wage data, Ross said the annual payroll impact of based on the April jobs report would be a loss of more than $50 million.

“Applying that (federal wage data) estimate to the roughly 800 jobs lost implied by the sector’s 7.2% year-over-year decline, the direct annual payroll impact is approximately $53 million,” Ross said. “This estimate reflects only the direct payroll loss and doesn’t include broader ripple effects (reduced household spending, lower demand for local services, secondary impacts on other businesses, etc.)”

Leisure and Hospitality jobs in the Fort Smith metro had an estimated gain of 200 jobs in April, with jobs in the sector up 9.2% since April 2021. The Education & Health Services sector posted a gain of 200 jobs in April compared with April 2025. Jobs in the sector are up 2.4% compared with April 2021.

Other Fort Smith metro sectors with job declines in April included Trade, Transportation (down 200 jobs), and Government (down 200 jobs).

The numbers reflect significant revisions, based on methodology changes, implemented in January 2026. Prior to that, revisions were made to counties included in the estimates. In 2025, LeFlore County, Okla., was removed from the Fort Smith metro.

JOB SECTOR NUMBERS
Following are details on the region’s top seven job categories.
Trade, Transportation, and Utilities
April 2026: 20,400
April 2025: 20,600
April 2021: 21,100
The sector posted record employment of 22,500 in September 2022.

Education and Health Services
April 2026: 17,100
April 2025: 16,900
April 2021: 16,700
The sector first posted record employment of 17,100 in October 2024.

Manufacturing
April 2026: 17,800
April 2025: 17,700
April 2021: 15,700
The sector posted record employment of 29,200 in June 1999.

Government
April 2026: 13,100
April 2025: 13,300
April 2021: 13,800
The sector posted record employment of 14,900 in March 2021.

Professional and Business Services
April 2026: 10,300
April 2025: 11,100
April 2021: 11,200
The sector posted record employment of 12,900 in August 2007.

Leisure and Hospitality (tourism)
April 2026: 9,500
April 2025: 9,300
April 2021: 8,700
The sector first posted record employment at 9,600 jobs in May 2025.

Mining, Logging, Construction
April 2026: 4,900
April 2025: 4,900
April 2021: 4,500
The sector first posted record employment of 7,400 in August 2008.