Labor market indicators for Arkansas’ metropolitan areas in June were mixed. Unemployment rates ranged from 2.9% in Northwest Arkansas to 4.3% in the Memphis metro area. Unemployment rates in Fort Smith and Jonesboro edged slightly higher from the May estimates, while Memphis and Texarkana declined by 0.1 percentage points.
Compared to six months ago, unemployment rates are generally up slightly, but with small declines in Memphis and Texarkana. Rates are higher than a year ago in all metro areas except Texarkana.
Payroll Employment
Nonfarm payroll employment changes were also mixed. Employment was lower in the four metro areas that have been showing the strongest growth in recent months: Northwest Arkansas, Central Arkansas, Jonesboro, and Texarkana. Employment was up slightly in Fort Smith, and unchanged in Hot Springs and Memphis.
Compared to a year ago, employment has increased in all metro areas except Memphis, albeit to varying degrees. Over the longer term, Fayetteville, Little Rock and Jonesboro have had the highest growth trends, but employment in all of the metro areas is higher than the pre-covid peak in February 2020.