Arkansas' unemployment rate rose to 5.7 percent in April from 5.6 percent in March, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics said Wednesday.
The national unemployment rate was 5.4 percent in April.
It was the first time in more than four years -- since January 2011 -- that Arkansas' unemployment rate didn't decline or hold steady.
Recent revisions in the historical unemployment rates eliminated some of the ups and downs in the rates when they were originally reported, said Michael Pakko, chief economist at the Institute for Economic Advancement at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock.
"Now it looks more like a steady downward path since 2011 up to this point," Pakko said.
The slight increase is statistically insignificant, said Kathy Deck, director of the Center for Business and Economic Research at the University of Arkansas in Fayetteville. The Bureau of Labor Statistics considers 0.9 percent to be the statistical margin of error with the unemployment rate.
The state's economy is unlike it was in 2011, when the effects of the recession lingered.
"I would argue that we're in a better economic place now [than in 2011], even with the [April] unemployment rate going up," Deck said. "That's just because we're seeing people come back into the labor force. One of the things that was happening in 2010 and 2011, the labor force was shrinking."
The state's unemployment rate has been lower, Deck said, and 5.6 and 5.7 percent rates are not as low as Arkansas' unemployment rate "was during the best of the bubble times. We've got to pay attention to what happens with the national [unemployment] rate. If it continues to drop, we would expect the Arkansas rate to drop along with it over time."
Arkansas' unemployment rate is close to what economists consider "full employment," the state of the economy where all eligible people who want to work can find employment at prevailing wage rates.
Full employment is presently estimated to be about 5.4 percent, according to the Congressional Budget Office, Pakko said.
Arkansas' number of nonfarm payroll jobs rose by 25,600 in the previous 12 months to 1,215,500 in April, the highest total ever for the state, Deck said.
Pakko noted that April was also the second straight month that the number of unemployed increased. There were 76,100 Arkansans unemployed in April, up 1,500 from 74,600 in March.
"That's a little bit disconcerting but two months certainly doesn't make a trend," Pakko said.
April and May historically are months for high employment growth, said both Pakko and Deck.
"April is one of those months where we see seasonal increases [in jobs]," Pakko said. "As spring rolls around, typically sectors like construction are up."
Nine employment sectors reported increases in jobs in April compared with April last year.
The leisure and hospitality sector added 6,700 jobs in April compared with a year earlier. The trade, transportation and utilities sector grew by 5,500 jobs. The educational and heath services sector was up by 4,600 jobs.
There were 47,900 construction jobs in Arkansas in April, up 3,000 jobs since April 2014. Construction is an important sector for growth because it affects many areas of the economy.
Nebraska had the lowest unemployment rate in April at 2.5 percent, followed by North Dakota at 3.1 percent, Utah at 3.4 percent, and South Dakota and Vermont at 3.6 percent each.
Nevada had the highest unemployment rate at 7.1 percent, followed by West Virginia at 7.0 percent, Alaska and South Carolina at 6.7 percent each , and Louisiana and Mississippi at 6.6 percent each.
Twenty-three states had unemployment rate decreases from March to April, 11 states had increases and 16 states had no change.
Business on 05/28/2015