Overall unemployment rate moved up to 3.5% with the biggest shift in Government, which lost 500 roles, based on the most recently available information published in March 2023.
Total employment in the Fort Smith, AR-OK market declined by 657 jobs in January and the unemployment rate increased compared to the prior month by 80 bps to 3.5%. The national unemployment rate increased by 60 bps over the same time to 3.9%.
- Fort Smith, AR-OK unemployment rate is 36 bps below the national rate which is a positive sign.
- Unemployment in the market is equal to the unemployment rate in the market last year at this time.
- Average wages (per hour) grew in January versus prior month by 4.2% and are up compared to last year at this time in the market.
For key employment segments of the market, total jobs declined by -1.3%. Key sectors include:
- Transportation & Utilities: 24,800; -400
- Manufacturing: 18,600; no change
- Education & Healthcare: 17,900; +100
- Government: 17,700; -500
- Business Services: 11,500; -500
- Restaurants & Hotels: 9,600; -100
- Construction, Mining: 5,300; no change
- Financial Services: 4,200; no change
- Other Jobs: 3,500; -100
- IT & Development: 1,400; no change
Data is based on the most recent 12 months available, through January 2023 (Data published March 2023 and reports created on March 17, 2023). Source: Government data agency and locally acquired statistics.
Note: All reported data is not seasonally adjusted.