Fort Smith, Arkansas Job Growth

There were 115,100 jobs in Fort Smith, Arkansas in September 2023 according to the CES survey of employers. The CPS survey of households showed 115,529 employed persons for the month. Fort Smith lost 300 jobs in September 2023 according to the CES survey while the broader CPS measure of employment fell by 77 (Comparing CES and CPS employment numbers.). You can also compare Fort Smith job growth to job growth in other cities.

Note: The CPS survey data is now seasonally adjusted at the metropolitan level by with the new BLS SSA series.

Fort Smith, Arkansas Employment Changes

The charts below show the monthly job growth for Fort Smith 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 for Fort Smith, Arkansas

CES employment for Fort Smith peaked in November 2007 at 121,900. Since then 6,800 jobs have been lost in Fort Smith according to the employer survey. From a trough of 103,200 in April 2020, Fort Smith has gained 11,900 jobs according to CES employment figures.

CPS employment reached a maximum of 122,797 for Fort Smith in December 2007. 7,268 jobs have been lost in Fort Smith since then according to the household survey. From a April 2020 low of 104,386, Fort Smith has added 11,143 jobs according to the CPS survey.

Employment: CES, CPS

Fort Smith, Arkansas Employment History