The report on state-level employment for July 2025 indicated that Arkansas continues along a relatively steady growth path. The Arkansas unemployment rate was unchanged at 3.7% and the labor force participation rate was unchanged at 58.4%. Those key indicators of labor market activity have shown no significant change over the course of 2025. Meanwhile, Arkansas payroll employment continued to expand in July—albeit with a notable downward revision to the data for June.
The national employment report released on August 1 showed the U.S. unemployment rate ticking up to 4.2% from 4.1% in June. Other than the brief dip in June, the national unemployment rate has been stable for five months. Meanwhile the Arkansas unemployment rate has remained steady at 3.4%.
While the unemployment rate has been unchanged since March, the number of unemployed has been trending higher, rising from 50,588 in March to 53,049 in July. Meanwhile, employment and the labor force have been expanding in tandem, resulting in no change in the ratio of the unemployment to the labor force (the unemployment rate). In July, the number of unemployed increased by 347 and the number of employed was up 556, resulting in a labor force increase of 903.
Similarly, the Arkansas labor force has expanded in tandem with population in recent months, resulting in a labor force participation rate that has been steady at 58.4% since January. Arkansas’ labor force participation rate has increased from 57.8% to 58.4% since July 2024. Over the same period, the U.S. participation rate has trended modestly lower, dropping from 62.6% in July 2024 to 62.2% in July 2025.
Payroll Employment
Arkansas nonfarm payroll employment increased by 4,600 in July (seasonally adjusted). When the national employment statistics were released on August 1, the slow job growth and substantial downward revisions to readings from May and June were the cause of consternation—so much so that the President took the unprecedented step of firing the Commissioner of the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Data revisions are not uncommon, but given the controversy about the revisions to U.S. data, it is interesting to note that Arkansas employment was also revised downward for June. What was originally reported as an increase of 1,200 is now reporting a decline of 600 jobs.
For July, the seasonally adjusted increase reflected growth across nearly every sector. Particularly large gains were reported for Construction, Professional & Business Services (primarily in Administrative & Support), Education and Health Services (all related to Health Care), and Leisure & Hospitality Services (Accommodation and Food Services).
The increase in Construction employment was notable for the fact that it followed a sharp decline reported in June. As shown in the figure below, Construction employment has been trending downward for a year or more, but the sharp drop in June (which was exacerbated by the June data revision) appears to have been largely transitory.
Over the past 12 months, seasonally-adjusted nonfarm payroll employment in Arkansas has increased by 18,000 jobs—about 1.3%. Over the same period, U.S. payroll employment increased by 1.0%. Relative to the previous cyclical peak in February 2020, Arkansas employment has increased by 6.9%, while U.S. employment has increased by 4.8%/
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Seasonally adjusted data for Arkansas nonfarm payroll employment, reported in a format consistent with the monthly news release from the Arkansas Division of Workforce Services, can be found here: Table-Seasonally Adjusted NFPE.