A “slowing trend” in Arkansas job growth was evident in Tuesday’s federal report showing that only three of the seven metro areas in or connected to Arkansas posted year-over-year job gains in March. The Northwest Arkansas and Jonesboro metros posted jobless rates below 4%.
The March jobs report for U.S. metro areas, posted Tuesday (May 19) by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), shows job gains in the Northwest Arkansas, Jonesboro, and Texarkana metros.
Central Arkansas – Little Rock, North Little Rock and Conway – had 393,700 nonfarm jobs in March, down 500 jobs, or 0.13%, compared with March 2025. The metro had 15,956 unemployed, up 14.2% from 13,969 in March 2025. The region set a nonfarm jobs record of 397,400 in December 2025…