LITTLE ROCK — Arkansas’ unemployment rate dipped slightly to 7.7 percent in December, the third consecutive monthly drop in the state jobless rate, labor statistics released Tuesday show.
The rate for November was initially announced at 8 percent but was later revised to 7.9 percent.
“It’s nice to see the trend in the unemployment figures going down,” Gov. Mike Beebe said Tuesday, but he added that “7.7 is still too high, so we’ve still got to fight like the devil every time we can to create more jobs.”
The unemployment rate in Arkansas was 0.8 percentage points lower than the national rate of 8.5 percent in December.
The state jobless rate last month was two-tenths of a percentage point lower than the December 2010 rate of 7.9 percent, the state Department of Workforce Services said.
Independent reporting for Pine Bluff & Jefferson County since 1879.
The department reported that 1.26 million people were employed in the state last month and 105,300 were out of work. In November, 108,500 were unemployed.
The total civilian labor force in Arkansas grew by 3,100 in December.
“The number of employed Arkansans increased for the fourth consecutive month,” said state DWS spokeswoman Kimberly Friedman. “This increase in employment has contributed to the unemployment rate’s decrease over the last three months.”
Despite the reduced unemployment rate, the total number of jobs in Arkansas decreased last month, which analysts say can happen as more people begin working multiple jobs. Total jobs in the state decreased by 4,600 in December.
Jobs declined in eight major industry sectors, more than offsetting gains in three sectors. Leisure and hospitality saw the largest drop with 2,600 jobs lost, most of them seasonal and most in food services.
Government jobs fell by 1,300, with state and local government jobs each making up about half of the total.
The losses reflect winter break at schools. Construction lost 1,000 jobs, with the drop attributed mainly to the weather.
The largest increase occurred in trade, transportation and utilities, which added 2,600 jobs, 2,300 of them in retail trade, the result of holiday-related seasonal hiring.