Arkansas' unemployment rate remained unchanged at 5.7 percent in May compared with April, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics said Friday.
The national unemployment rate in May was 5.5 percent.
The number of employed Arkansans reached 1,259,700, up 46,100 from May last year. The number of unemployed in the state was down 3,000 in the previous 12 months to 76,800.
"This month's employment increase marks the 18th consecutive month of growth," Susan Price, program operations manager for the Arkansas Department of Workforce Services, said in a prepared statement.
Arkansas has not had as many employed workers in the state since March 2009, when 1,262,993 Arkansans were employed.
"That is unabashed good news," said Kathy Deck, director of the Center for Business and Economic Research at the University of Arkansas in Fayetteville. "The number of employed people is growing more rapidly than the unemployed."
The May report was positive, said Marc Fusaro, associate professor of economics at Arkansas Tech University.
"From last May to this May, the number of people employed increased [3.8] percent," Fusaro said. "And the number of people unemployed declined over the same period."
But there also were mixed signals in the report, said Michael Pakko, chief economist at the Institute for Economic Advancement at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock.
"There was no real clear indication of a change in direction," Pakko said.
There was an increase from April to May in the number of people unemployed for the third consecutive month, Pakko said.
"Three months in a row [of increases in unemployment] and you start to get concerned," Pakko said. "It seems that conditions have weakened a little bit in the labor market. Part of that we can write off to weather conditions in March."
That the state's unemployment rate remained unchanged wasn't surprising, Pakko said.
"We're in that range now where further progress toward a lower unemployment rate is likely to be slow at best," Pakko said.
Eight industry sectors in Arkansas had an increase in jobs from May last year to last month, two had declines and one was unchanged.
The leisure and hospitality sector grew by 6,100 jobs; the trade, transportation and utilities sector increased by 5,400 jobs; and the educational and health services sector added 3,700 jobs.
Construction, which is a leading indicator for future economic activity, gained 2,300 jobs in the past year.
"People build something for a reason," Fusaro said. "If it's residential construction, that means people are moving into an area. And the reason they are moving in is because industry is expanding. If it's commercial construction, that will be put to use soon. After you build a factory, you hire people to fill it up."
Deck noted that when employment does well, real estate does well, too.
"It just shows we're having a good solid expansion," Deck said.
Some smaller industry areas that did well included retail sales, which added 1,100 jobs from April to May; the arts, entertainment and recreation area, which added 1,000 jobs in one month; and food services, which added 5,300 jobs from May 2014 to last month, Fusaro said.
The increase in food services was particularly important, Fusaro said.
"That's a very cyclical piece of the economy," Fusaro said. "When people are struggling, they eat out less. So that's a good indicator that the economy is starting to pick up again."
Nebraska had the lowest unemployment rate last month at 2.6 percent, followed by North Dakota at 3.1 percent, Utah at 3.5 percent, Vermont at 3.6 percent and four others at 3.8 percent.
Virginia had the highest unemployment rate at 7.2 percent, followed by Nevada at 7 percent, Alaska and South Carolina at 6.8 percent each and Mississippi at 6.7 percent.
Twenty-five states reported an increase in their unemployment rates from April to May, nine states had decreases and 16 saw no change.
Business on 06/20/2015