Arkansas’ unemployment rate held for the second straight month at 3.6% as continued strong job growth across several industry sectors pushed nonfarm payroll jobs to record levels in May, state labor officials reported Friday.

The jobs data posted Friday by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics and released by the state Department of Workforce Services shows the total number of employed in Arkansas at 1,313,429, up 2,543 from a month ago and a robust 13,365 job additions from a year ago.

The state’s labor force – the number of people eligible to work – rose by 1,410 to  1,361,929, up 0.9% or 11,897 from May 2018. Compared to a year ago, the state’s nonfarm payroll jobs increased to a record total of 1,283,400, although the monthly market summary is preliminary and subject to revision.      MORE