Counties with the highest unemployment in Arkansas
Despite a relatively low unemployment rate just shy of 4%, as compared to the COVID-19 pandemic peak of 14.7% in April 2020, the fear of job losses remains amid ongoing economic uncertainty.
Stacker compiled a list of counties with the highest unemployment rates in Arkansas using Bureau of Labor Statistics data. Counties are ranked by their preliminary unemployment rate in April 2024, with initial ties broken by the number of unemployed people within that county, though some ties may remain. County-level unemployment rates are not seasonally adjusted.
Economists forecast a waning risk of recession and predict that the U.S. may instead be headed for an incremental slowdown in growth known as a "soft landing." Still, layoffs among major U.S. employers like Amazon to Tesla have sparked concern among Americans. What's more, unemployment has spiked in nearly half the country's states, which often indicates a looming recession, an economist told Business Insider. And with sky-high prices after a period of record inflation, savings and unemployment payments may not cover basic expenses for jobless Americans for long.
For comparison, the Great Recession of 2007-09 sent unemployment rates up to 10% as of October 2009, and a full recovery took years.
Still, as of April 2024, the national unemployment rate remains relatively low at 3.9%—little changed from the previous month. Regional and state employment varies widely depending on local economies. Seasonally adjusted unemployment rates by state vary, ranging from just 2% in North Dakota to 5.3% in California.
Read on to see the counties with the highest unemployment in Arkansas.
#50. Perry County
- April unemployment rate (preliminary): 3.3%
--- 1-month change: Down 0.2 percentage points
--- 1-year change: Up 0.6 percentage points
- Total labor force: 4,395 people (147 unemployed)
#49. Cross County
- April unemployment rate (preliminary): 3.3%
--- 1-month change: Down 0.3 percentage points
--- 1-year change: Up 0.5 percentage points
- Total labor force: 7,014 people (232 unemployed)
#48. Poinsett County
- April unemployment rate (preliminary): 3.3%
--- 1-month change: Down 0.4 percentage points
--- 1-year change: Up 0.8 percentage points
- Total labor force: 10,079 people (336 unemployed)
#47. Hot Spring County
- April unemployment rate (preliminary): 3.3%
--- 1-month change: Down 0.3 percentage points
--- 1-year change: Up 0.6 percentage points
- Total labor force: 13,746 people (454 unemployed)
#46. Greene County
- April unemployment rate (preliminary): 3.3%
--- 1-month change: Down 0.3 percentage points
--- 1-year change: Up 0.8 percentage points
- Total labor force: 20,067 people (657 unemployed)
#45. Pope County
- April unemployment rate (preliminary): 3.3%
--- 1-month change: Down 0.2 percentage points
--- 1-year change: Up 0.5 percentage points
- Total labor force: 28,825 people (941 unemployed)
#44. White County
- April unemployment rate (preliminary): 3.3%
--- 1-month change: Down 0.3 percentage points
--- 1-year change: Up 0.6 percentage points
- Total labor force: 34,511 people (1,138 unemployed)
#43. Woodruff County
- April unemployment rate (preliminary): 3.4%
--- 1-month change: Down 0.5 percentage points
--- 1-year change: Up 0.5 percentage points
- Total labor force: 2,828 people (97 unemployed)
#42. Fulton County
- April unemployment rate (preliminary): 3.4%
--- 1-month change: Down 0.4 percentage points
--- 1-year change: Up 0.4 percentage points
- Total labor force: 4,582 people (158 unemployed)
#41. Sevier County
- April unemployment rate (preliminary): 3.4%
--- 1-month change: Down 0.3 percentage points
--- 1-year change: Up 0.5 percentage points
- Total labor force: 5,548 people (188 unemployed)
#40. Conway County
- April unemployment rate (preliminary): 3.4%
--- 1-month change: Down 0.4 percentage points
--- 1-year change: Up 0.4 percentage points
- Total labor force: 8,374 people (281 unemployed)
#39. Garland County
- April unemployment rate (preliminary): 3.4%
--- 1-month change: Down 0.3 percentage points
--- 1-year change: Up 0.4 percentage points
- Total labor force: 41,782 people (1,432 unemployed)
#37. Nevada County (tie)
- April unemployment rate (preliminary): 3.5%
--- 1-month change: Down 0.2 percentage points
--- 1-year change: Up 0.8 percentage points
- Total labor force: 3,261 people (114 unemployed)
#37. Newton County (tie)
- April unemployment rate (preliminary): 3.5%
--- 1-month change: Down 0.3 percentage points
--- 1-year change: Up 1.0 percentage points
- Total labor force: 3,235 people (114 unemployed)
#36. Baxter County
- April unemployment rate (preliminary): 3.5%
--- 1-month change: Down 0.4 percentage points
--- 1-year change: Up 0.8 percentage points
- Total labor force: 17,074 people (606 unemployed)
#35. Stone County
- April unemployment rate (preliminary): 3.6%
--- 1-month change: Down 0.5 percentage points
--- 1-year change: Up 0.3 percentage points
- Total labor force: 4,687 people (170 unemployed)
#34. Randolph County
- April unemployment rate (preliminary): 3.6%
--- 1-month change: Down 0.1 percentage points
--- 1-year change: Up 0.9 percentage points
- Total labor force: 7,130 people (258 unemployed)
#33. Clark County
- April unemployment rate (preliminary): 3.6%
--- 1-month change: Down 0.4 percentage points
--- 1-year change: Up 0.2 percentage points
- Total labor force: 8,715 people (317 unemployed)
#32. Columbia County
- April unemployment rate (preliminary): 3.6%
--- 1-month change: Down 0.3 percentage points
--- 1-year change: Up 0.2 percentage points
- Total labor force: 8,876 people (322 unemployed)
#31. Sharp County
- April unemployment rate (preliminary): 3.7%
--- 1-month change: Down 0.4 percentage points
--- 1-year change: Up 0.7 percentage points
- Total labor force: 6,123 people (225 unemployed)
#30. Logan County
- April unemployment rate (preliminary): 3.7%
--- 1-month change: Down 0.5 percentage points
--- 1-year change: Up 0.7 percentage points
- Total labor force: 8,311 people (306 unemployed)
#29. Miller County
- April unemployment rate (preliminary): 3.7%
--- 1-month change: Down 0.1 percentage points
--- 1-year change: Up 0.7 percentage points
- Total labor force: 18,790 people (694 unemployed)
#28. Crittenden County
- April unemployment rate (preliminary): 3.7%
--- 1-month change: Down 0.3 percentage points
--- 1-year change: Up 0.5 percentage points
- Total labor force: 20,279 people (743 unemployed)
#27. Monroe County
- April unemployment rate (preliminary): 3.8%
--- 1-month change: No change
--- 1-year change: Up 0.8 percentage points
- Total labor force: 2,467 people (93 unemployed)
#26. Searcy County
- April unemployment rate (preliminary): 3.8%
--- 1-month change: Down 0.4 percentage points
--- 1-year change: Up 0.4 percentage points
- Total labor force: 2,879 people (108 unemployed)
#25. Van Buren County
- April unemployment rate (preliminary): 3.8%
--- 1-month change: Down 0.3 percentage points
--- 1-year change: Up 0.6 percentage points
- Total labor force: 5,948 people (226 unemployed)
#24. Ouachita County
- April unemployment rate (preliminary): 3.8%
--- 1-month change: Down 0.2 percentage points
--- 1-year change: Up 0.6 percentage points
- Total labor force: 9,627 people (367 unemployed)
#23. Dallas County
- April unemployment rate (preliminary): 3.9%
--- 1-month change: Down 0.1 percentage points
--- 1-year change: Up 0.5 percentage points
- Total labor force: 2,638 people (104 unemployed)
#22. Bradley County
- April unemployment rate (preliminary): 3.9%
--- 1-month change: Down 0.3 percentage points
--- 1-year change: No change
- Total labor force: 4,110 people (160 unemployed)
#21. Little River County
- April unemployment rate (preliminary): 3.9%
--- 1-month change: Up 0.1 percentage points
--- 1-year change: Up 1.3 percentage points
- Total labor force: 5,227 people (202 unemployed)
#20. Marion County
- April unemployment rate (preliminary): 3.9%
--- 1-month change: Down 0.5 percentage points
--- 1-year change: Up 1.1 percentage points
- Total labor force: 5,993 people (232 unemployed)
#19. Drew County
- April unemployment rate (preliminary): 3.9%
--- 1-month change: Down 0.1 percentage points
--- 1-year change: Up 0.5 percentage points
- Total labor force: 7,663 people (299 unemployed)
#18. Cleburne County
- April unemployment rate (preliminary): 3.9%
--- 1-month change: Down 0.3 percentage points
--- 1-year change: Up 0.7 percentage points
- Total labor force: 9,133 people (355 unemployed)
#17. Polk County
- April unemployment rate (preliminary): 4.0%
--- 1-month change: Down 0.3 percentage points
--- 1-year change: Up 1.2 percentage points
- Total labor force: 7,780 people (310 unemployed)
#16. Jackson County
- April unemployment rate (preliminary): 4.1%
--- 1-month change: Down 0.2 percentage points
--- 1-year change: Up 0.1 percentage points
- Total labor force: 5,384 people (219 unemployed)
#15. Clay County
- April unemployment rate (preliminary): 4.2%
--- 1-month change: Down 0.3 percentage points
--- 1-year change: Up 1.1 percentage points
- Total labor force: 5,393 people (224 unemployed)
#14. Jefferson County
- April unemployment rate (preliminary): 4.2%
--- 1-month change: Down 0.2 percentage points
--- 1-year change: Up 0.6 percentage points
- Total labor force: 25,321 people (1,063 unemployed)
#13. Montgomery County
- April unemployment rate (preliminary): 4.4%
--- 1-month change: Down 0.2 percentage points
--- 1-year change: Up 0.7 percentage points
- Total labor force: 3,051 people (134 unemployed)
#12. Izard County
- April unemployment rate (preliminary): 4.4%
--- 1-month change: Down 0.4 percentage points
--- 1-year change: Up 0.7 percentage points
- Total labor force: 4,673 people (206 unemployed)
#11. Lafayette County
- April unemployment rate (preliminary): 4.5%
--- 1-month change: Down 0.2 percentage points
--- 1-year change: Up 0.8 percentage points
- Total labor force: 2,185 people (99 unemployed)
#10. Lincoln County
- April unemployment rate (preliminary): 4.5%
--- 1-month change: Down 0.2 percentage points
--- 1-year change: Up 1.3 percentage points
- Total labor force: 3,697 people (165 unemployed)
#9. Mississippi County
- April unemployment rate (preliminary): 4.5%
--- 1-month change: Up 0.1 percentage points
--- 1-year change: Up 0.7 percentage points
- Total labor force: 17,199 people (771 unemployed)
#8. Lee County
- April unemployment rate (preliminary): 4.7%
--- 1-month change: No change
--- 1-year change: Up 0.3 percentage points
- Total labor force: 2,514 people (118 unemployed)
#7. Union County
- April unemployment rate (preliminary): 4.7%
--- 1-month change: Down 0.2 percentage points
--- 1-year change: Up 1.1 percentage points
- Total labor force: 14,620 people (680 unemployed)
#6. Johnson County
- April unemployment rate (preliminary): 4.8%
--- 1-month change: Down 0.3 percentage points
--- 1-year change: Up 1.7 percentage points
- Total labor force: 9,828 people (469 unemployed)
#5. St. Francis County
- April unemployment rate (preliminary): 4.9%
--- 1-month change: Down 0.2 percentage points
--- 1-year change: Up 1.1 percentage points
- Total labor force: 7,477 people (369 unemployed)
#4. Desha County
- April unemployment rate (preliminary): 5.2%
--- 1-month change: Down 0.2 percentage points
--- 1-year change: Up 1.4 percentage points
- Total labor force: 4,891 people (254 unemployed)
#3. Phillips County
- April unemployment rate (preliminary): 5.2%
--- 1-month change: Down 0.4 percentage points
--- 1-year change: No change
- Total labor force: 5,183 people (269 unemployed)
#2. Ashley County
- April unemployment rate (preliminary): 5.3%
--- 1-month change: Down 0.1 percentage points
--- 1-year change: Up 0.8 percentage points
- Total labor force: 6,601 people (348 unemployed)
#1. Chicot County
- April unemployment rate (preliminary): 5.6%
--- 1-month change: Down 0.3 percentage points
--- 1-year change: Up 1.0 percentage points
- Total labor force: 2,861 people (159 unemployed)
This story features data reporting by Paxtyn Merten and is part of a series utilizing data automation across 50 states.
