Unemployment rates fell in all six of Arkansas' metropolitan areas in April compared with March, the Labor Department said Wednesday.
For the entire state, the joblessness rate fell from 7.4 percent in March to 6.9 percent in April, according to Labor Department nonseasonally adjusted figures.
Below are the changes for each of the state's metropolitan areas:
• Little Rock-North Little Rock-Conway: 6.2 percent, down from 6.7 percent.
• Fayetteville-Springdale-Rogers: 5.1 percent, down from 5.5 percent.
• Fort Smith: 7.2 percent, down from 7.9 percent.
• Hot Springs: 7.1 percent, down from 7.7 percent.
• Jonesboro: 6.5 percent, down from 6.9 percent.
• Pine Bluff: 9.2 percent, down from 9.8 percent.
Meanwhile, unemployment rates fell in almost all large U.S. cities in April, helped by stronger hiring. The Labor Department said rates declined in 344 of the 372 largest metro areas. Rates rose in just 17 cities and were unchanged in 11.
The U.S. unemployment rate dropped in April to a four-year low of 7.5 percent, down from 7.6 percent in March. Employers have added an average of 208,000 jobs each month in the past six months. That's up from just 138,000 in the previous six.
The metropolitan unemployment data aren't seasonally adjusted for trends like the hiring of summer employees in coastal cities. As a result, it can be more volatile than the national data.
