Northwest Arkansas ended 2014 with an unemployment rate of 4.1 percent -- the lowest in the state and down a full point from a year earlier, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
The drop follows a national trend of declining rates. The state's unemployment rate was 5.6 percent in December; the U.S. rate was 5.4 percent. Those rates in December 2013 were 7.2 percent and 6.5 percent, respectively.
Four other Arkansas metropolitan areas had unemployment rates in December below 6 percent. Little Rock and Texarkana had unemployment rates at 5 percent in December, down from 6.3 percent in Little Rock and 7 percent in Texarkana in December 2013.
Other December unemployment rates, compared with December 2013, were: Jonesboro, 5.1 percent, down from 6.6 percent; Fort Smith, 5.5 percent, down from 7.7 percent; Hot Springs, 6.0 percent, down from 7.5 percent; and Pine Bluff, 7.2 percent, down from 9.7 percent.
Northwest Arkansas' labor force increased by about 100 people between December 2013 and December 2014; the number of unemployed people dropped by about 2,200 and nearly 2,300 people started jobs. The Northwest Arkansas metropolitan statistical area includes Washington, Benton and Madison counties in Arkansas and McDonald County, Mo.
"The increase is a better indication of a healthy economy," said Kathy Deck, director of the Center for Business and Economic Research at the University of Arkansas. "When the labor force is shrinking even as the number of jobs are rising, it causes a pang of worry."
Northwest Arkansas' vendor community is the factor that "differentiates our area from other places our size," Deck said.
Cameron Smith, owner and founder of executive recruitment firm Cameron Smith & Associates in Rogers, said there are 1,488 Wal-Mart supplier teams with offices in Northwest Arkansas employing more than 6,000 people, Smith said.
Northwest Arkansas' low unemployment rate and growing corporate management sector helped it secure the fifth spot on CareerBuilder's Labor Market 150 Index. The inaugural quarterly index, released today, uses factors such as employment growth and abundance of high-paying new jobs to measure how dynamic a metropolitan area is, said Ryan Hunt, spokesman for the job-search website.
Provo, Utah, with an unemployment rate of 3 percent and a growing tech sector, topped the list.
Hunt said the index tries to balance the various economic areas to give a complete picture. Northwest Arkansas ranked fifth in "quality employment," but 93rd in advertisements for jobs. The high mark in quality employment was based on the average wage of new jobs created since 2010 and job growth in the area's leading industry, Hunt said.
"The post-recession rebound in that particular area has been very good," he said.
Business on 02/05/2015