In December, Arkansas’s unemployment rate rose to 3.4%

Little Rock, Arkansas – The Bureau of Labor Statistics and the Arkansas Division of Workforce Services, Workforce Policy, and Innovation announced the state’s December unemployment rate on January 28.

From 3.3% in November to 3.4% in December, the unemployment rate increased by a tenth of a percentage point, but it is still far lower than the 4.1% national average.

In December, the number of civilian workers in Arkansas increased by 2,544. The percentage has increased to 3.4% due to 1,487 employed Arkansans and 1,057 jobless Arkansans actively seeking employment. Both unemployment and the civilian labor force are still at all-time highs.

The number of employees in the state has increased by 34,626 from December 2023. Over the past year, labor force participation has increased seven-tenths of a percentage point, while the unemployment rate has decreased three-tenths of a percentage point.

There were 1,100 nonfarm payroll jobs in December. 2,800 new positions were added by Trade-Transportation-Utilities, primarily as a result of seasonal employment over the holidays.

Additionally, 1,300 new workers were added to positions in professional and business services. Typical seasonal losses were recorded by four industry sectors.

Compared to 2023, nonfarm payroll jobs have increased by 23,200. Private education and health services (+11,000), professional and business services (+4,800), manufacturing (+3,600), and leisure and hospitality (+2,200) saw the biggest gains among the nine major industry sectors that showed annual growth.