Arkansas workers saw their paychecks grow faster than the national average in the second quarter of 2025 but the state’s private sector still cut more jobs than it added during that same period, according to new federal data.
Average weekly wages in Arkansas rose 4.2% compared to the same time last year, outpacing the national increase of 3.3%. The number of businesses operating in Arkansas also grew, up 7.9% from a year earlier.
But job movement told a more complicated story. Between March and June, Arkansas private employers eliminated 61,370 positions while creating 55,899, leaving the state with a net loss of 5,471 jobs for the quarter.
Arkansas actually fared better than most of the country. The state’s job loss rate was 5.5 percent of private sector employment, compared to the national rate of 6.0 percent. Seven of the 10 major industry sectors in Arkansas lost more jobs than they gained during the quarter.
Arkansas is not alone in the dip as forty-one states saw job losses outpace job gains in the second quarter, and nationally, losses exceeded gains in 9 of 13 industry sectors.
After the wild swings of 2020 and early 2021, Arkansas job numbers have settled into a much steadier range with both gains and losses hovering in a relatively tight band each quarter. Wages are rising, businesses are opening, and while the job market isn’t booming, it isn’t unraveling either.
The data comes from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Business Employment Dynamics report for the second quarter of 2025.
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