by Michael Pakko | Apr 21, 2023
It has been widely anticipated that the recent increases in interest rates would result in weaker labor markets. In Arkansas, at least, there is little sign of deteriorating conditions—quite the opposite, in fact. Today’s report from the Bureau of Labor...
by Michael Pakko | Mar 24, 2023
State-level data on employment and unemployment in February were mixed for Arkansas. Information from the household survey showed a sharp drop in the number of employed, and hence a drop in the unemployment rate from 3.4% to 3.2% (in contrast to the 0.2 percentage...
by Michael Pakko | Mar 17, 2023
New and revised data on metropolitan area employment and unemployment were released this morning from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. As was the case with the state-level data earlier this week, data from both the household and payroll surveys were subject to annual...
by Michael Pakko | Mar 13, 2023
The state-level report on employment and unemployment that was released today shows little change in current conditions or the near-term outlook for Arkansas. For example, the unemployment rate, at 3.4%, remains in the 3.5%+/- range in which it has fluctuated over...
by Michael Pakko | Feb 2, 2023
The end-of-year employment data for metropolitan areas is in. Most of Arkansas metro areas finished 2022 with unemployment rates slightly higher than in December of 2021. Compared to the statewide average of 3.5%, metro area unemployment rates were relatively low in...
by Michael Pakko | Dec 16, 2022
Data on labor markets showed deteriorating conditions in November: Unemployment continued its upward creep, while both household and payroll surveys showed employment contractions. The unemployment rate ticked up from 3.6% to 3.7%, matching the national unemployment...