Arkansas Commerce Secretary Mike Preston says the COVID-19 pandemic is an “unprecedented” challenge to the state’s economy, but the state is in a good position to cushion the blow to businesses and employees. read more >
Trade policy has been a “shock” to the economy, and uncertainty over it is rising sharply, Kevin Kliesen of the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis said Thursday at the Little Rock Regional Economic Briefing. read more >
Nonfarm payroll employment in Arkansas rose in June in most of the state’s metro areas, particularly in Fayetteville and Jonesboro. read more >
The unemployment rates in most of Arkansas’ metro areas continued to move downward or stay stable in June, with Fayetteville, Jonesboro, Little Rock and Texarkana seeing declines. read more >
Arkansas’ gross domestic product expanded by 2.5% during the first quarter of 2019, the highest quarterly growth rate for the state since the fourth quarter of 2016, Michael Pakko noted recently on his Arkansas Economist blog. read more >
We have suggested to Michael Pakko, the state economic forecaster, that the volume of Movers & Shakers landing in our queue be considered an economic indicator. By that indication, Arkansas’ economy is humming. read more >
Total personal income in Arkansas jumped at an annual rate of 7.5% in the fourth quarter of 2018, outpacing the U.S. growth rate of 5.2%, according to the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis. read more >
Personal consumption expenditures in the United States rose 4.3 percent in 2017, according to the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis. read more >
Although the unemployment rate gets the most attention, Arkansas economist Michael Pakko recently also looked at the employment rate in the state over the last year and since the Great Recession. read more >
James Bullard, president of the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, fielded questions Friday about President Donald Trump's pick to head the Federal Reserve Board, the GOP tax plan and the future of banking regulations. read more >
The Arkansas Realtors Association says Arkansas home sales in June weighed in at 3,542 — ahead of the 3,493 sold in June 2006, before the recession rocked the national residential real estate market. read more >
Northeast Arkansas has experienced a "robust economic expansion" and "some optimism is in order," economist Michael Pakko told business leaders at the second annual Regional Economic Forecast in Jonesboro. read more >
In an economic expansion that has generally been lackluster across the state and the nation, the Jonesboro region stands out as one of the more dynamic and growing local economies. read more >
Arkansas' unemployment rate continued to fall in January to the lowest on record, 3.8 percent. The rate was 3.9 percent in December and 4.2 percent in January 2016. read more >
Arkansas’ taxable sales rose a seasonally adjusted 0.4 percent in the fourth quarter of 2016 and were up 1.8 percent compared with a year earlier. read more >
Prices and sales figures show the state still bouncing back from the housing market bust. read more >
My first reaction to the long movie line was simple: Just hire some more people, whydoncha? But if the answer were that simple, people whose livelihoods depend on retail sales could have figured that out. read more >
The Associated General Contractors of America says Little Rock metropolitan area placed fourth out of 358 metros nationwide in construction jobs lost between October 2015 and October 2016. read more >
A Chinese garment maker’s plan to spend $20 million building a factory in Little Rock is an example of a manufacturing phenomenon that is picking up steam as automation begins to wash out the labor cost advantage that for decades enticed manufacturers to move overseas. read more >
A multimillion-dollar incentives package is helping attract the Chinese garment maker that plans to build a $20 million plant in Little Rock and open it by the end of 2017. read more >
