Arkansas Unemployment Rate Ticks Down, Manufacturing Gains In Year Of Loss

A report Friday from the state Department of Workforce Services shows there were about 52,000 Utah residents who were out of work in October but looking for jobs.

North Carolina’s unemployment was as low as 5.3 percent earlier in the year, which at the time was better than the national average.

The numbers are based on a survey of households and will fluctuate as the state Department of Employment and Labor gets more reliable figures in its quarterly census from establishments.

The not seasonally adjusted unemployment rate in October was 3.7 percent, down from 3.8 percent in September and down from 3.9 percent one year ago.

The government sector lost 2,500 jobs over the year, or almost 1 percent, while the manufacturing sector shed 1,000 jobs, or about half a percent.

Hendry County continues to have the highest unemployment rate in the state at 9.4 percent but the unemployment rate had been in the double digits over the summer at 12.2 percent back in August and 11.4 percent in September.

In some positive news for the United States economy, it was reported that the fewer Americans sought unemployment benefits last week which made many analysts believe that companies continue to remain confident about the economy so as to hold onto their workers. Because agriculture is such a substantial force in the Valley’s economy, “even though we saw seasonal gains in other industries, the loss of farm jobs kind of wipes things out because it was such a large drop”, Gutierrez added. The East South Central and Pacific had the highest rates, 5.6 percent each. The state has added 463,000 jobs in the past year.

Trade, Transportation and Utilities, Professional Business Services, Educational and Health Services, and Leisure and Hospitality all added jobs for the month, according to the EDD. He says 12,000 jobs have been created since the beginning of the year. Kansas nonfarm jobs increased by 10,900, a 0.8 percent increase since October 2014. Education and health services grew by 1,100 in a month bringing the year to date total to 5,400. The private sector also has accounted for the addition of 180,800 positions in Texas over the past year.