Arkansas’ December unemployment rate held steady at 3.7 percent.
The state Department of Workforce Services said Tuesday that Arkansas’ civilian labor force declined by 10,088 from November, a result of 79 more Arkansans being unemployed and 10,167 dropping from the workforce.
The U.S. jobless rate was also unchanged at 4.1 percent in December.
“Arkansas’ jobless rate remained stable in December, mirroring the trend seen at the national level,” BLS Program Operations Manager Susan Price said in a news release. “While the size of the civilian labor force declined, it was not enough to impact the unemployment rate.”
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In December 2016, 52,779 people were unemployed in Arkansas, and the unemployment rate was 3.9 percent. Last month, 50,196 people were unemployed.
Compared to December 2016, Arkansas’ nonfarm payroll employment is up by 16,100.
Seven major industry sectors reported gains, with four adding 3,100 or more jobs each:
- Employment in educational and health services increased by 5,800. Gains were posted in both health care and social assistance (3,100) and educational services (2,700).
- Manufacturing added 5,200 jobs, mostly in nondurable goods manufacturing (5,000).
- Jobs in professional and business services rose by 3,200.
- Construction reported moderate growth, up by 3,100. A majority of the expansion was in specialty trade contractors (1,800).
- Trade, transportation and utilities declined by 1,800, with retail trade suffering the biggest hit.
- Government lost 1,100 jobs, mostly in local government (1,000).
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