Unemployment rates are a relatively timely indicator of current local economic conditions, particularly recent changes in the employment landscape that reflect the overall health of the economy.

In 2020, the unemployment rate was 6.1%, down from a recent high of 7.9% in 2011 and below the national rate of 8.1%. Madison County (3.9%) and Arkansas County (4.0%) had the lowest rates, while Ashley County (9.3%) and Chicot County (10.3%) had the highest rates.

It is possible to analyze unemployment rates across groups using a different dataset, the Census Bureau's American Community Survey. This data shows that unemployment was a bit more prevalent among men (5.3%) compared to women (5.0%) and among black or African American residents (9.0%) compared to Hispanic (4.5%), white (4.3%) and Asian (2.3%) residents in 2015-19.

While traditional explanations for employment rate disparities focus on education and training gaps, whites tend to be employed at higher rates than Blacks and other people of color at every education level (high school, some college, bachelor's degree, etc.). This has led many researchers to focus on labor market discrimination as a primary cause of higher unemployment among people of color. However, it is also true that education levels are generally lower for people of color, suggesting that the education system's failure to equitably serve people of color is also a contributing factor.

The unemployment rate represents only those who are actively seeking employment and does not account for under-employment or discouraged workers who have stopped looking for jobs. Also, county-level estimates are based on relatively small samples, and the true number of unemployed residents may vary considerably from the estimate. The rates reported here are averages of monthly rates. 2020 data for this indicator is expected to be released in the second quarter of 2021.

The multiyear figures are from the Census Bureau's American Community Survey. The bureau combined 5 years of responses to the survey to provide estimates for smaller geographic areas and increase the precision of its estimates. However, because the information came from a survey, the samples responding to the survey were not always large enough to produce reliable results, especially in small geographic areas. CGR has noted on data tables the estimates with relatively large margins of error. Estimates with 3 asterisks have the largest margins, plus or minus 50% or more of the estimate. Two asterisks mean plus or minus 35%-50%, and one asterisk means plus or minus 20%-35%. For all estimates, the confidence level is 90%, meaning there is 90% probability the true value (if the whole population were surveyed) would be within the margin of error (or confidence interval). The survey provides data on characteristics of the population that used to be collected only during the decennial census. This data is expected to be released annually in December.