Jobless rate up to 3.8% for state

Workforce falls by about 1,800

Information about Arkansas and U.S. joblessness rates
Information about Arkansas and U.S. joblessness rates

Arkansas' unemployment rate in February was 3.8 percent, up from 3.7 percent in January, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics said Friday.

The national unemployment rate was 4.1 percent in February.

"It's hard to find anything optimistic to say about this report," said Michael Pakko, chief economist at the Arkansas Economic Development Institute at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock.

There were 1,800 fewer Arkansans who were employed in February compared with January, Pakko said.

The unemployment rate ticking upward was inconsequential, Pakko said. The difference was a rounding factor of only 0.006 of a percentage point -- 3.746 percent unemployment in January and 3.752 percent in February, Pakko said.

"Nevertheless, the important point is that Arkansas' unemployment rate remains exceptionally low by historical standards," Pakko said.

There was a continuing slide in the state's labor force, which includes those who are employed and those seeking jobs, said Mervin Jebaraj, director of the Center for Business and Economic Research at the University of Arkansas in Fayetteville.

The labor force also lost about 1,800 jobs from January to February.

The drop in the labor force certainly does not improve the state's labor force participation rate, which is around 58 percent, Jebaraj has said.

The labor force participation is the percentage of the population from ages 16 to 64 that is working or seeking work. Most states have labor force participation rates above 60 percent, Jebaraj said.

"Most of the growth comes from ordinary employers expanding their businesses by adding five to 10 jobs," Jebaraj said. "That's where the real growth comes from. It's not the announcements of 500 jobs or 200 jobs."

Eight job sectors added jobs in February compared with February last year and three sectors lost jobs.

Manufacturing and the educational and health services sector each grew by 1,500 jobs over the year.

The number of construction jobs in Arkansas grew by 800 jobs from January to February but only by 300 jobs from February last year to February this year.

"The construction industry continues to add employees in most of the nation, despite a shortage of workers with construction experience," Ken Simonson, chief economist with the Associated General Contractors of America, said in a prepared statement.

For the monthly change from January to February, the professional and business services sector led Arkansas' private sectors by adding 2,600 jobs, said Greg Kaza, executive director of the Arkansas Policy Foundation in Little Rock.

Arkansas' professional and business services sector now ranks 33rd in the country in the number of jobs, Kaza said.

Arkansas has 143,700 jobs in the professional and business services sector. The sector includes scientific and technical jobs, management of companies, and administrative and support services. California leads with 2.5 million jobs in the sector.

"Growth in this Arkansas sector has exceeded the national average, 29 percent to 26 percent, in the current expansion" since June 2009, Kaza said.

Hawaii had the lowest unemployment rate in February at 2.1 percent, followed by North Dakota and New Hampshire at at 2.6 percent each, and Nebraska and Vermont at 2.8 percent each.

The unemployment rate in Alaska was the highest at 7.3 percent, followed by New Mexico at 5.8 percent, West Virginia at 5.4 percent and Arizona and Nevada at 4.9 percent each.

In a related report, Arkansas ranks 16th in the country in personal income growth with a 3.2 percent increase in 2017, according to the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis.

Arkansas' 3.2 percent growth beat the national average of 3.1 percent. The average Arkansan earned $40,791 last year, according to the report.

Business on 03/24/2018

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