Adults engaged in post-secondary training or retraining are acquiring knowledge and skills which can enhance opportunities to employability and productivity for their families and communities. Adults' choices about whether to pursue further education are often shaped by the general availability of job prospects at their current education level.

In 2019, 3.2% of Arkansas' working-age adults were enrolled in further education, part of a steady decline from 6.2% in 2011 (a decrease of roughly 46,093 adults in terms of enrollment). This trend was likely due to improving economic and job market conditions in this time period that made pursuing education and training less attractive. Across regional counties, the share was lowest in Bowie County, TX (0.4%), followed by Carroll and Madison counties (1.6% and 1.7%) and highest in Jefferson, Arkansas, Phillips and Mississippi (all at 4.5%).

Rates are uneven across racial and ethnic groups, with 4.7% of working-age Blacks enrolled in further education compared to 3.0% of whites and 2.2% of Hispanics. While the Black rate was the highest in 2019, it has also fallen the most since 2011 (decreasing nearly 4 percentage points).

A higher share of women (4.2%) were enrolled in further education than men (at 2.2%). The female rate decreased by nearly 4 points from 2011, when female enrollment rates were almost double that of males.

The larger changes in educational enrollment for women and Blacks may be a signal that they, in particular, have seen their job prospects in the economy improve, making further education less attractive.

Working age adults are people age 25 to 64. Counts reflect only those adults enrolled in Arkansas. The data includes students at in-state and some private institutions. Enrollees are assigned to counties based on their listed county of origin at time of enrollment. Counts of 10 or less are suppressed in compliance with the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA).