Figures released by the Arkansas Department of Workforce Services show a May unemployment rate for Pine Bluff of 10.7 percent, an uptick from the April number of 10.2 percent yet lower than the March number of 11 percent.
For Jefferson County, the unemployment rate for May was 9.4 percent, up from April’s 8.9 percent rate and down from the 9.6 percent March rate.
The state of Arkansas posted a 7.3 percent unemployment rate for May, which was up slightly from the April reading of 7.2 percent and down from the March reading of 7.4 percent.
For the month of May, Sherwood had the lowest unemployment rate in the state, at 5.3 percent, while West Memphis had the highest rate of May unemployment at 12.5 percent.
“The unemployment rate in Arkansas rose one-tenth of a percentage point in May, mirroring the trend seen at the national level,” ADWS communications director Kimberly Friedman said in a press release. “While the number of unemployed increased slightly this month, there are still 9,500 fewer unemployed and 33,200 more employed Arkansans than in May 2011.”