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Arkansas Unemployment Rate Rises to 5.7 Percent in April

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Arkansas’ unemployment rate ticked up one-tenth of a percentage point from March, coming in at 5.7 percent in April, according to a report Wednesday by the state Department of Workforce Services.

It’s the first time the Arkansas unemployment rate has increased since January 2011, according to Michael Pakko, the chief economist at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock’s Institute for Economic Advancement.

Pakko said the increase likely means employment levels in Arkansas are settling. Although the unemployment percentage increased from March to April, the number of jobs increased as well.

Pakko said he does not expect Arkansas’ unemployment rate to continue to increase.

“I’m fairly optimistic for outlook for employment in Arkansas,” Pakko said. “My forecast is for continued strong job growth the rest of the year.”

The April report said Arkansas’ civilian labor force rose by 4,100 from March, with 2,600 more employed and 1,500 more unemployed Arkansans. In all, there were 76,100 unemployed and 1.26 million employed Arkansans last month.

Meanwhile, the U.S. jobless rate declined one-tenth of a percentage point, from 5.5 percent in March to 5.4 percent in April. Arkansas’ unemployment rate has been consistently higher than the U.S. unemployment rate, but only by a small margin.

“Arkansas’ unemployment rate rose one-tenth of a percentage point in April, with both employment and unemployment adding to the civilian labor force,” Susan Price, ADWS program operations manager, said in a news release. “The unemployment rate is still six-tenths of a percentage point lower than in April 2014.”

In April 2014, Arkansas’ unemployment rate stood at 6.3 percent, with 80,900 unemployed and 1.21 million employed. The U.S. unemployment rate was 6.2 percent.

A New High

“Arkansas has reestablished a brand new employment high, higher than it was before the recession,” said Kathy Deck, director of the Center for Business and Economic Research at the University of Arkansas’ Sam M. Walton College of Business. “If we look at the unemployment numbers, I think we are going to be in this range for a while. It’s better to have the unemployment range staying the same or bounce around in this region. For many years we saw the labor force come down.”

The leisure and hospitality sector added 6,700 jobs and educational and health services added 4,600 jobs in the last year.

“We’ve been seeing pretty strong growth throughout this economic recovery in the two strongest super sectors,” Pakko said. “It’s not really terribly surprising that we saw increases there. Those are clearly the standout sectors.”

Deck said the jobs in the leisure and hospitality sector are mainly from the food industry.

“We talk about leisure and hospitality jobs almost every month,” Deck said. “Those are primarily restaurant jobs. We go out to eat more, so obviously we have more restaurant workers.”

One industry that has lost jobs is the mining and logging industry, down 300 jobs from the same time last year.

Pakko attributed the decline to lower oil prices and “statistical noise.” Deck said the industry is losing jobs nationwide.

The professional and business services sector had what Deck called “healthy growth,” adding 1,800 jobs since March. The trade, transportation and utilities industry added 2,600 jobs over the same period. The construction industry gained 2,800 jobs, an expected seasonal change, according to the ADWS.

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