by Michael Pakko | May 20, 2022
Although the unemployment rate ticked up a tenth of a point in April, the employment report for Arkansas was generally positive. Both the household and payroll surveys showed employment growth, and labor force participation rose for the fourth consecutive month. The...
by Michael Pakko | Mar 14, 2022
The latest data on Arkansas employment and unemployment was released today, including the annual “benchmark revisions” of the payroll employment data. The information from the household survey showed a slight drop in the unemployment rate. After the...
by Michael Pakko | Jan 25, 2022
The year 2021 ended with another month of robust employment gains in Arkansas. The state’s unemployment rate fell to a new record low in December, and payroll employment finished the year more than 2% higher than the end of the previous year. The headline news...
by Michael Pakko | Dec 9, 2021
The Arkansas legislature adopted major income tax legislation this week, with the accomplished goal of lowering the marginal tax rate on high incomes from 5.9% in 2021 to 5.5% in 2022, with further reductions scheduled for subsequent years that would reduce the top...
by Michael Pakko | Oct 22, 2021
The latest report on Arkansas employment and unemployment included positive news along several dimensions. The number of unemployed and the unemployment rate declined, and both the household and payroll surveys showed increases in employment. The headline news was a...
by Michael Pakko | Oct 14, 2021
The annual data on state-level Personal Consumption Expenditures (PCE) were published last week by the Bureau of Economic Analysis. The data for Arkansas reaffirm our observation that Arkansas consumers maintained relatively high levels of spending during the depths...