Arkansas' seasonally adjusted unemployment rate declined to 8% in June from 9.6% in May, the state Department of Workforce Services reported Friday.
The department revised May’s estimate up from the 9.5% it originally reported. The report said that in June Arkansas' civilian labor force decreased by 33,219.
More: See the full report here.
The U.S. jobless rate also declined, going from 13.3% in May to 11.1% percent in June.
“Despite moving into Phase 2 of reopening in June, there was a notable increase in the number of survey respondents in Arkansas reporting that they were not employed or had dropped out of the labor force. This was due in part to changes in seasonal summer hiring trends and recent temporary layoffs/closures. These reported losses more than offset the hiring that occurred in June,” BLS Program Operations Manager Susan Price said in a news release.
Compared to June 2019, nonfarm payroll jobs in Arkansas are down by 61,500. Nine major industry sectors posted job losses, while two gained jobs.
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Jobs in leisure and hospitality fell 19,100, with the most contraction being in accommodation and food services (-18,900).
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Manufacturing declined by 18,300, mostly in durable goods manufacturing (-13,700).
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Government lost 8,200 jobs, in local (-4,700) and state (-3,700) government. It was also a mix of educational and non-educational jobs.
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Employment in educational and health services dropped 9,900. A majority of the decline occurred in health care and social assistance (-10,400).
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Jobs in trade, transportation and utilities added 2,800 jobs, with gains in transportation-warehousing-utilities (+2,000) and wholesale trade (+1,000) more than offsetting a minor decline in retail trade (-200).
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The report said other reductions occurred in other services (-3,000), professional and business services (-2,200), financial activities (-2,100) and information (-1,300).
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Mining and logging lost 900 jobs, while construction gained 700.
