County Unemployment Numbers

Howard county has the lowest unemployment rate of any southwest Arkansas county…and the 8th lowest rate in Arkansas..according to the state’s division of Workforce Services. The September numbers, which are the latest available, show Howard county’s unemployment rate at only 2.9 percent. Rates in neighboring counties included 3.5 percent for both Hempstead & Pike counties, 4.1 percent in Little River county..and 4.8 percent in Sevier county. On the statewide level, the September rate increased a tenth of a percent from the August rate of 3.4 percent.