2023 Economic Forecast Event

This morning’s Economic Forecast Event was a great success. Thank you to all the participants and attendees, and special thanks to the Little Rock Branch of the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis for hosting the event. Copies of the presentations are available by...

Metro Area Employment and Unemployment – September 2023

Mirroring the statewide report, Arkansas’ metro areas saw unemployment creep higher, with signs of slowing employment growth in some areas. Among the eight metro areas that cover parts of the state, only Texarkana saw no change in its unemployment rate.  The...

Arkansas Personal Income – 2023:Q2

The most recent personal income report showed a sharp slowing of Arkansas income growth in the second quarter. However, thorough revisions to the data had the effect of raising estimates of the state’s growth in the recent past, particularly in 2020 and 2021....

Arkansas Employment and Unemployment – June 2023

The latest state employment report shows another month of solid growth. The unemployment rate dropped to a new all-time record of 2.6%—a new record low for the series (again). The national unemployment rate also declined in June, leaving Arkansas’ unemployment...

The 2023 Income Tax Cut Proposal

As this year’s legislative session winds down, a new tax cut proposal is on the agenda of the state legislature this week. The proposal would reduce the top marginal tax rate from 4.9% to 4.7%. This essay considers some of the features of the proposal. Arkansas...

Arkansas Employment and Unemployment – December 2022

Many economists have been predicting weakening economic conditions as the Federal Reserve hikes interest rates to fight inflation, but the impact on labor markets has not yet materialized.  The data for the final month of the year (released yesterday) revealed stable...
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