Shifting Job Trends in Central Arkansas Economy


Shifting Job Trends in Central Arkansas Economy
(Arkansas Business)

The economy in central Arkansas showed signs of changing trends in job sectors during 2022, Metroplan, the area’s planning agency, noted in a February report.

The chart compares job trends in selected sectors between the nation and central Arkansas, covering October 2020 to October 2022, the recovery period from the COVID-19 recession.

Total job growth for the Little Rock metropolitan statistical area was 6.2%, a little lower than the United States average of 7.5%. “However, since local jobs were less hard-hit by the recession of 2020 to begin with, the region’s post-recession performance has been creditable,” the report said.

The biggest changes were in the wholesale trade and especially the transportation-warehouse-utility sectors, which outgrew the U.S. average by more than double overall.

The biggest job loss occurred in local government, which lost 8.4%, compared with 3.6% growth at the U.S. level.