Arkansas’ unemployment rate fell one-tenth of a percentage point from 5.1 percent in October to 5 percent in November, according to a report Friday by the state Department of Workforce Services.
The report said the state’s civilian labor force declined by 1,800, the result of 2,000 fewer unemployed and 200 additional employed Arkansans.
The U.S. jobless rate remained unchanged at 5 percent in November.
More: See the full report (PDF).
“Arkansas’ unemployment rate declined to 5.0 percent in November, down seven-tenths of a percentage point since November 2014,” BLS Program Operations Manager Susan Price said in a news release. “The last time Arkansas’ rate was at 5 percent was in April 2008.”
Overall, the state’s civilian labor force was 1.33 million, up 26,000 from about 1.31 million in November 2014 but down 1,800 from October 2014.
Since November 2014, nonfarm payroll employment in Arkansas increased by 14,800. The report said seven major industry sectors posted growth, offsetting declines in four sectors.
Among the year-over-year changes:
- Professional and business services added 6,000 jobs, with gains in all three subsectors.
- Employment in educational and health services rose by 5,900, all in health care and social assistance.
- Jobs in construction increased by 5,700, with most in specialty trade contractors.
- Leisure and hospitality added 2,600 jobs, mostly in food services.
- Employment in manufacturing dropped by 5,700, with most of the decline — 4,000 jobs — in durable goods manufacturing, attributed in part to losses in primary metal manufacturing.
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