“The long-suffering people of Arkansas deserve policies that create a vast, stable and prosperous middle class, not ideas that create more poverty. They deserve the opportunity to achieve the American dream through good-paying private sector jobs that provide upward mobility.” Policy Foundation, „Road Map for Arkansas Prosperity‟ (December 2008)

(June 2010) Total Arkansas payroll employment has contracted to its September 2004 level (1,160,200) following two consecutive years of job losses and four years of subpar growth compared to the U.S. average.

Total government employment in Arkansas expanded 10 percent in the period, and is 19 percent of payroll employment. (1)

Negative Growth

Arkansas payroll employment contracted for the second consecutive year in 2009, from 1,183,100 (January) to 1,153,900 (December), U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data show. (2) Payroll employment declined from 1,207,700 (January) to 1,188,900 (December) in 2008, data show.

Subpar Growth

National payroll employment expanded at higher percentage rates than Arkansas in 2004, 2005, 2006 and 2007. (3) The lack of employment growth in Arkansas is a long-term problem.

— Greg Kaza

Total government employment includes federal, state and local sectors, and expanded from 201,200 (September 2004) to 221,500 (May 2010)

Arkansas payroll employment data is posted at www.bls.gov. Click “Employment,” “State and Local Employment,” “SAE Databases,” “Current Employment Statistics – CES/Top Picks,” and “Arkansas.”