12.13.21 – by Arkansas Business Staff
Just as unemployment fell statewide in October, to 3.7%, unemployment rates in all eight Arkansas metropolitan statistical areas also declined, with rates falling by 0.2 to 0.4 percentage points.
“Rates are considerably lower than a year ago, and are generally near pre-pandemic levels,” economist Michael Pakko noted on his blog, arkansaseconomist.com, earlier this month.
“Unemployment rates are lower than in February 2020 in Texarkana, Fort Smith, and the Fayetteville MSA. Memphis, Texarkana and Little Rock continue to experience higher unemployment rates than before the economic downturn, but even in those metro areas rates are elevated by less than a percentage point,” said Pakko, the chief economist with the Arkansas Economic Development Institute.
Unemployment Rates for Arkansas MSAs, October 2021
(Seasonally Adjusted Metropolitain Area Estimates, Percentages)
| Change from: | ||||
| Oct. 2021 | Month Ago | Year Ago | Feb. 2020 | |
| Fayetteville-Springdale-Rogers | 2.4 | -0.2 | -1.7 | -0.1 |
| Fort Smith | 3.2 | -0.2 | -2.1 | -0.5 |
| Hot Springs | 4.1 | -0.2 | -2.6 | 0.2 |
| Jonesboro | 3.1 | -0.3 | -1.5 | 0.3 |
| Little Rock-North Little Rock-Conway | 3.8 | -0.3 | -1.9 | 0.5 |
| Memphis | 5.1 | -0.2 | -4.9 | 0.8 |
| Pine Bluff | 5.6 | 0.4 | 1.9 | 0.1 |
| Texarkana | 5.0 | -0.2 | -1.4 | 0.9 |
| Arkansas Statewide | 3.7 | -0.3 | -1.9 | -0.1 |