Fort Smith, Arkansas Unemployment
The BLS reported that the unemployment rate for Fort Smith fell 0.0 percentage points in February 2021 to 4.9%. For the same month, the metro unemployment rate was 0.4 percentage points higher than the Arkansas rate. The unemployment rate in Fort Smith peaked in April 2020 at 12.4% and is now 7.5 percentage points lower. From a post peak low of 4.5% in December 2020, the unemployment rate has now grown by 0.4 percentage points. You can also compare Fort Smith unemployment with unemployment in other cities.
| Unemployment Rate | February 2021 | Month/Month | Year/Year |
|---|---|---|---|
| National | 6.2% | -0.1 | +2.7 |
| Arkansas | 4.5% | -0.1 | +0.7 |
| Fort Smith | 4.9% | 0.0 | +1.4 |
Unemployment Rate: Fort Smith, Arkansas, National
Note: Recessions shown in gray.
Fort Smith, Arkansas Unemployed
The number of people unemployed in Fort Smith peaked in April 2020 at 14,309. There are now 8,486 fewer people unemployed in the metropolitan area. From a recent trough of 5,323 in December 2020, the number of unemployed has now grown by 500. Fort Smith employment and jobs data (including jobs lost/gained in Fort Smith, Arkansas) is also available.
| Unemployed Persons | February 2021 | Month/Month | Year/Year |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fort Smith | 5,823 | -8 | +1,603 |
Number of Unemployed Persons
Fort Smith, Arkansas Unemployment History
| Date | National Unemployment Rate |
Arkansas Unemployment Rate |
Fort Smith Unemployment Rate |
Fort Smith Unemployed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| March 2021 |
6.0% | — | — | — |
| February 2021 |
6.2% | 4.5% | 4.9% | 5,823 |
| January 2021 |
6.3% | 4.6% | 4.9% | 5,831 |
| December 2020 |
6.7% | 4.9% | 4.5% | 5,323 |
| November 2020 |
6.7% | 5.3% | 6.3% | 7,319 |
| October 2020 |
6.9% | 5.6% | 6.4% | 7,411 |
| September 2020 |
7.8% | 5.9% | 6.9% | 8,051 |
| August 2020 |
8.4% | 6.5% | 7.0% | 8,209 |
| July 2020 |
10.2% | 7.1% | 7.4% | 8,382 |
| June 2020 |
11.1% | 7.8% | 7.5% | 8,530 |
| May 2020 |
13.3% | 8.5% | 11.9% | 14,186 |
| April 2020 |
14.8% | 10.0% | 12.4% | 14,309 |
1. Metro area unemployment rates are now seasonally adjusted. The BLS has started publishing smoothed seasonally adjusted metropolitan area data which makes comparisons to state and national data more relevant than the unadjusted numbers. ↩
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