Arkansas Unemployment Falls to 4% as Employment Reaches Record 1.399 Million

2 articles · Updated · Deltaplex News · Aug 24

Arkansas’ jobless rate slipped to 4.0% in July from 4.1% in June, the third straight monthly decline, while employed residents rose by 1,135 to a record roughly 1.399 million.
The improvement came as 972 fewer residents were counted as unemployed and the civilian labor force edged up by 163; the state rate also stayed below the 4.1% national figure.
Nonfarm payrolls still fell by 16,500 from June, a drop state officials largely tied to normal summer school-related seasonality; government jobs led the decline with 11,300 fewer positions.
Compared with July 2025, Arkansas had 22,895 more employed residents, 23,026 more labor-force participants and about 9,300 more nonfarm payroll jobs, pointing to stronger year-over-year labor conditions.
County and metro July unemployment figures have not yet been released, so the statewide gain may not reflect conditions in individual Southeast Arkansas communities.