Little Rock Mayor Frank Scott Jr. surrounded himself with economic development officials Tuesday to tout the city's job growth since he took office in January 2019.
The mayor said that Little Rock has achieved "historic" job growth with more than 4,000 new jobs outlined by nearly two dozen companies that have said they are expanding or moving to the city.
Scott pointed out that Little Rock has endured flooding, a global pandemic, a recession and civil and political unrest while working to add jobs.
"In spite of it all, the city of Little Rock and Central Arkansas has experienced historic year-over-year jobs growth," Scott said. "We have experienced announced jobs of close to 4,000 new jobs here in the city of Little Rock. We are excited about this new day as we serve as a catalyst for the new South."
Many of the jobs already have been created while others are planned to materialize in years to come as the companies move to Little Rock.
For example, major investors and job creators like Amazon and Costco are building in the city.
Other employers, like Trader Joe's in west Little Rock, are open and employing residents and generating tax dollars.
While the mayor mentioned year-over-year growth, the jobs announcements he cited date to January 2019, when Scott first took office.
The mayor noted economic development efforts have been enhanced with a partnership involving the Greater Little Rock Chamber of Commerce and key employers and advocates such as Entergy Arkansas, the state's largest electric utility.
Chamber President and Chief Executive Officer Jay Chesshir said job growth "happens because we continue to push forth the message of Little Rock as not only a great place to live but also as a great place to work, play and learn."
Laura Landreaux, Entergy Arkansas' president and chief executive, noted the electric utility's efforts to market and promote available jobs sites in the city and across the state.
"We understand that thriving and attractive cities and communities are our best selling points," she said.
"Through our business and economic development team at Entergy, we aim to be an asset to Little Rock by helping it grow by supporting new and existing business development."
Overall, the number of workers employed in Little Rock has declined over the past two years, according to statistics provided by the Arkansas Department of Workforce Services.
Unemployment in Little Rock was 5% in December, above the statewide rate of 4.2% and above the city's rate of 3.1% in December 2019.
The city's joblessness rate was below 5% from January-March in the pre-pandemic economy. Unemployment spiked to 12% in April and has declined every month since.
The statistics show that Little Rock had 90,667 workers employed in December 2020, down from the 93,594 employed in December 2019. In December 2018, Little Rock registered 94,024 employed workers.