by Michael Pakko | Sep 3, 2021
The statewide employment data released two weeks ago showed an ongoing slow pace of recovery in Arkansas labor markets. The unemployment rate, for example, ticked down by less than one-tenth of a percentage point (seasonally adjusted). Newly published data for...
by Michael Pakko | Aug 31, 2021
Arkansas Retail Sales declined slightly for a second month in May, but remained well above levels of a year ago or before the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. Total Retail and Food Services Sales were down 3%, following a 3.4% decline in April. The two monthly...
by Michael Pakko | Aug 20, 2021
Arkansas labor markets continued their snails’-pace recovery in July. The official unemployment rate declined by one-tenth of a percent, to 4.3%, but that change was essentially within the range of rounding error. From March through July, Arkansas’...
by Michael Pakko | Jul 29, 2021
The statewide employment data for June showed little change in Arkansas labor market conditions, and the newly-released data for metropolitan areas consistent with that conclusion. On a not-seasonally adjusted basis, unemployment rates in Arkansas metro areas rose by...
by Michael Pakko | Jul 22, 2021
After a brief weather-related contraction in February, consumer spending surged in March and remained elevated in April. Data for Arkansas Retail Sales shows that spending patterns in our state are matching the national data, with even larger increases relative to...
