Area Unemployment Numbers Show April Increase

The full impact of COVID-19 on the Arkansas workforce was seen during April. All southwest Arkansas counties saw sharp increases in the number of people who filed unemployment claims during the month as compared with March.

Howard county reported the area’s lowest unemployment rate and the 10th lowest in the state for April at 8.2 percent. Those figures represent more than a three percent increase from the previous month.

Other neighboring counties also saw more than a three percent increase in their unemployment rates from March to April. Hempstead county’s April numbers rose to 8.7 percent and Pike county reported an April unemployment rate of 8.8 percent

Over half the counties in Arkansas reported unemployment rates of at least 10 percent in April.