Area Unemployment Numbers Close To 5%

COVID-19 began impacting Arkansas during March but unemployment numbers in the southwest part of the state weren’t greatly affected.

According to the latest numbers from the Arkansas Division of Workforce Services, Howard County had the 16th lowest rate at 4.7 percent.

Hempstead County’s number for March was 5.2 percent and Pike County had a March unemployment rate of 5.3 percent which was tied for the 36th lowest in the state.

Statewide numbers ranged from a low of 3.2 percent to a high of ten percent in Chicot County.