by Michael Pakko | May 22, 2020
As anticipated, the state-level employment and unemployment report for April showed a sharp increase in unemployment and precipitous declines in employment. The official unemployment rate rose from 5.0% (revised) to 10.2%. Nonfarm payrolls declined by over 100,000....
by Michael Pakko | May 12, 2020
The economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic continues to be more rapid and more severe than initially expected. In our previous forecast dated April 8, we projected a payroll employment decline of 108,000 by the end of the year. It now appears that job losses...
by Michael Pakko | May 7, 2020
Initial claims for unemployment insurance in Arkansas remained well above “normal” levels last week, but continue to edge lower. In the week ending May 2, there were 12,436 new claims filed, down from 17,671 (revised) the previous week. For the week ending...
by Michael Pakko | Apr 30, 2020
As the COVID-19 pandemic continues to take its toll on the economy, the number of initial unemployment insurance claims remains elevated but has declined sharply from its peak in early April. In the week ending April 25, initial claims in Arkansas were 16,745...
by Michael Pakko | Apr 29, 2020
The latest report on metro area employment shows that Arkansas’ metro areas generally followed the same pattern as the statewide statistics reported on April 17th: sharply higher unemployment and substantial declines in payroll employment. Metro area...
