Arkansas Job Growth

There were 1,239,400 jobs in Arkansas in February 2018 according to the CES survey of employers. The CPS survey of households showed 1,302,799 employed persons for the month. Arkansas lost 500 jobs in February 2018 according to the CES survey while the broader CPS employment measure fell by 1,811 (Comparing CES and CPS employment numbers.). Also available is Arkansas job growth compared to other states.

Employment Survey	February 2018	Month/Month	Year/Year
CES	1,239,400	-500	+2,500
CPS	1,302,799	-1,811	+2,989

Arkansas Employment Changes

The charts below shows the monthly job growth for Arkansas as measured by the CES and CPS surveys. To illustrate the trend, the 3 month moving average change in employment is shown in green.

CES Employment Change: 1 Month, Rolling 3 Month

CPS Employment Change: 1 Month, Rolling 3 Month

Total Employment in Arkansas

CES employment peaked in October 2017 for Arkansas at 1,243,900. Since then 4,500 jobs have been lost in Arkansas according to the employer survey. From a trough of 1,239,000 in December 2017, Arkansas has gained 400 jobs according to CES employment figures.

CPS employment in Arkansas reached a maximum of 1,307,414 in September 2017. 4,615 jobs have been lost in Arkansas since then according to the household survey.

Employment: CES, CPS

Arkansas Employment History

Date	CES Employment	CES Month/Month	CPS Employment	CPS Month/Month
February 2018	1,239,400	-500	1,302,799	-1,811
January 2018	1,239,900	900	1,304,610	-1,917
December 2017	1,239,000	-2,900	1,306,527	-183
November 2017	1,241,900	-2,000	1,306,710	-465
October 2017	1,243,900	3,400	1,307,175	-239
September 2017	1,240,500	100	1,307,414	186
August 2017	1,240,400	600	1,307,228	439
July 2017	1,239,800	-800	1,306,789	983
June 2017	1,240,600	2,000	1,305,806	1,193
May 2017	1,238,600	-1,400	1,304,613	1,340
April 2017	1,240,000	700	1,303,273	1,589
March 2017	1,239,300	2,400	1,301,684	1,874