Regional unemployment figures a mixed bag

Memphis area numbers slip, Jonesboro metro region sees growth

By Ralph Hardin

news@theeveningtimes.com

Data from the first month of 2025 shows that, like the end of 2024, just about anyone in Arkansas who wants a job has one, as the statewide unemployment rate remained at 3.4 percent in January, the same as it was in November and December of 2024.

There were some differences noted across the state from region to region, however.

According to data from the Memphis Metropolitan Statistical Area — which includes West Memphis, Marion and most of DeSoto County, Mississippi — saw an increase in the unemployment rate, going from 3.7 percent in December 2024, to 4.3 in early 2025, although Crittenden County as a standalone entity saw only a slight dip (2.9 percent to 3.1 percent).

In other parts of the state:

• About 2,575 more people in the Jonesboro Metropolitan Statistical Area were on company payrolls in December, compared to the same month in 2024, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

But, with more people in the area joining the workforce, the unemployment rate remained at 3 percent.

The Jonesboro metro includes residents of Craighead and Poinsett counties. It does not include Greene County, where a major plant closure was recently announced.

The civilian labor force in the two counties – people who were either employed or looking for work, totaled 69,517.

The government said 2,114 residents were officially unemployed, compared to 1,981 in December 2023.

• Statewide, the number of people with jobs rose by about 43,000. The Fayetteville- Springdale-Rogers metro in northwest Arkansas created roughly 23,000 of the added jobs, and it’s jobless rate remained at 2.5.

Some metropolitan areas in Arkansas actually showed improvement in unemployment figures.

• Fort Smith, which also includes border counties in Oklahoma, showed a rate of 3.4 percent, down from 3.8 in 2023. Hot Springs dropped from 3.8 to 3.7 percent. Little Rock-North Little Rock-Conway dropped from 3.2 to 3.1 percent.

Nationwide, statistics showed varying degrees of job security in December. Rapid City, S.D., had the lowest unemployment rate, 1.8 percent.

The next lowest rates were in Sioux Falls, S.D., 1.9 percent, and Ames, Iowa, 2.0 percent.

El Centro, Calif., had the highest rate, 17.8 percent.

National unemployment rates for January 2025 will be released in mid-March, accorsing to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.