ABBEVILLE, La. — Report: State wages
below U.S. average
The average hourly wage for more than 500 jobs in the Little Rock metropolitan area is $19.15 an hour, based on information from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
The May report from the agency contains employment and wage information for 22 major occupational groups and more than 500 specific jobs in central Arkansas.
The national average wage for the 500-plus jobs is $21.74, the report said.
In Northwest Arkansas, the average hourly wage for the 500 jobs was $19.42. The average hourly wage in the Fort Smith area was $16.59.
Wages in the Little Rock area for the 22 major groups ranged from $9.32 an hour in food preparation and serving jobs to $42.29 an hour in management occupations.
Wages in the Little Rock area were “measurably lower” than the national average in 20 of 22 major occupational groups, said Stanley Suchman, regional commissioner with the agency.
Among higher-paying jobs in the health-care practitioners and technical group were family and general practitioners with average hourly wages of $109.58 and surgeons at $109, based on the assumption of a 40-hour week.
Group elects state’s
bank commissioner
Candace Franks, commissioner of the Arkansas Bank Department, has been elected vice chairman of the Conference of State Bank Supervisors.
Franks, who has been the Arkansas bank commissioner since 2007, will become chairman-elect of the Washington, D.C.-based organization, which promotes the state banking system, next year.
Franks has worked for her entire 32-year business career at the State Bank Department.
Greg Gonzales, Tennessee commissioner of Financial Institutions, was selected as chairman of the board of the group.
12 stocks advance
on Arkansas Index
The Arkansas Index, a price-weighted index that tracks the largest public companies based in the state, gained 2.85 to 226.76 on Tuesday.
“News from overseas helped rally U.S. stocks as investors moved back into the markets on the hope that Greece will stay in the European Union and that China is readying additional stimulus for its economy,” said Chris Harkins, senior vice president and managing director of Delta Trust Investments Inc. in Little Rock. “The Arkansas Index advanced as 12 stocks moved higher, three finished lower and one remained unchanged.”
America’s Car-Mart surged 4.3 percent, Harkins said. J.B. Hunt Transport Services and Wal-Mart hit 52-week highs, Harkins said.
The index was developed by Bloomberg News and the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette with a base value of 100 as of Dec. 30, 1997.
Business, Pages 25 on 05/30/2012