Crawford County's home sales may have fallen off in May, but the northern neighbor to Fort Smith more than made up for a disappointing May with its June sales report. The county saw $9.089 million in sales on 69 homes during June, a 182.84% spoke from June 2013's total of 36 homes sold for $3.213 million.

Sebastian County also posted gains, though the numbers were not anywhere near triple-digit growth. Sebastian County posted $19.068 million in sales on 126 homes last month, an 11.12% improvement over June 2013, when 119 homes were sold in the county at a value of $17.16 million.

For the first six months of the year, Crawford County has increased sales volume of 46.55% from $23.244 million during the first six months of 2013 to $34.064 million during the same period this year.

Sebastian County posted a 9.09% gain from $77.894 million during the first half of 2013 to $84.977 million during the same period in 2014.

Vickie Davis, an agent Sagely & Edwards Realtors in Fort Smith, cautioned against reading too much into the meteoric increase in sales volume for Crawford County last month or even for the first part of this year. She said the likely culprit for the spike in home sales in the county was a mix of several homes on large tracts of land being sold coupled with more speculation that Rural Development loans will come to an end in Van Buren, the county seat and its largest city.

"A lot of people are trying to get things cleared out before that (Rural Development) stuff happens," she said.

Even though the Rural Development Loan Program was funded through the most recent Farm Bill passed by Congress and signed by President Barack Obama in February of this year, Davis said loan officers have notified her and other realtors working in Van Buren that the city would become ineligible on Oct. 1.

While the most recent Farm Bill raised the population limits for eligible cities to 35,000 people, the loan program's guidelines state that if a city is contiguous to a metropolitan statistical area — as is the case with Van Buren and Fort Smith, though the two are separated by the Arkansas River — those cities could be removed from the program.

While this will not impact the county's other cities like Alma, Cedarville or Mulberry, it will impact sales in Van Buren since requirements for Rural Development loans are not as strict as traditional fixed-rate loans.

Davis said anyone wanting to secure a home using the Rural Development option in Van Buren should act fast.

"If you're really interested in purchasing something right now, you need to get with it in the next three weeks," she said, adding that getting in now is necessary to give a bank time to get the loan fully processed. She said processing a loan only takes an average of 30 days, though she always advises clients to give it six to eight weeks.

As for the large properties Davis said could be a part of the increase in values, she cited one home on a large acreage that sold for more than $1 million, as well as another home on property that sold together for $760,000.

"All you need is a few things like that to bump it up," she said.

The average sale price for the county appears to reflect the higher priced homes sold last month, as June 2014 showed an average sale price of $131,720 compared to $89,263 in June 2013. The total represents a 47.56% increase from the same month last year.

Sebastian County's average sale price increased 4.95% from $144,202 in June 2013 to $151,336 last month.

Home Sales Data (January - June)
• Crawford County
Unit Sales
2014: 300
2013: 220

Total Sales Volume
2014: $34.064 million
2013: $23.244 million

Median Sales Price
2014: $104,000
2013: $105,000

• Sebastian County
Unit Sales
2014: 645
2013: 570

Total Sales Volume
2014: $84.977 million
2013: $77.894 million

Median Sales Price
2014: $115,000
2013: $115,000

Sparks Health System is making an early release of approximately $13.5 million to be applied toward the opening of the proposed Arkansas College of Osteopathic Medicine at Chaffee Crossing in Fort Smith.

The money is a portion of funds that were escrowed as a result of the 2009 sale of Sparks Regional Medical Center. By agreement of the parties, an additional $10 million will be released on Dec. 1, 2015.
    
“This is another wonderful example of a community-wide effort to meet a great community need,” Kyle Parker, president and CEO of the Arkansas Colleges of Health Education and the Arkansas College of Osteopathic Medicine, said in a statement from Sparks Health.

Citing the commitment from the Fort Smith Regional Healthcare Foundation, the Degen Foundation, the donation of 200 acres by the Fort Chaffee Redevelopment Authority, an anonymous $14 million gift, and now the early release of escrow funds by Sparks Health System, Parker noted, “this school and its mission to provide care for medically underserved areas will be transformative for our region and state.”

Arkansas is ranked 48th in the nation for physician accessibility. Upon its completion, the new osteopathic school would be Arkansas’ first college of osteopathic medicine and one of just 31 in the United States. Early estimates show the school would have a $100 million annual economic impact on the region, while also addressing future needs for primary care physicians across the nation.  

Recruitment of primary care and specialty physicians continues to be an emphasis for Sparks Health System. 

“We are excited to support the Arkansas Colleges of Health Education and the Arkansas College of Osteopathic Medicine for their commitment to educate physicians in our area,” Jeremy Drinkwitz, chief operating officer of Sparks Health System, said in the statement. “This school will expand the number of providers available to serve patients in our area, and we hope many of these physicians will choose to stay in the area after graduation.”

The Arkansas College of Osteopathic Medicine anticipates accepting its first class of students in the fall of 2016. Sparks Regional Medical Center is among the facilities where students will complete their clinical rotations.

The Samaritan Community Center’s SnackPacks for Kids program received a $45,000 grant from Tyson Foods in Springdale, the second such donation in the past year.

“No child should ever go hungry,” said Annetta Young, director of corporate social responsibility for Tyson Foods. “The Samaritan Community Center’s snackpack program helps to ensure that doesn’t happen for area school children at-risk for hunger on the weekends, and we’re very proud to support those efforts.”

The Samaritan Community Center started the SnackPacks for Kids program nine years ago. The program focuses on hunger relief for Northwest Arkansas elementary-aged school children who have been identified by school personnel as being most at-risk for hunger and food insecurity on the weekends and during the summer months when school meal programs are not available.
 
Led by one paid staff member, the program is primarily volunteer driven. During the school year dozens of individuals and volunteer groups donate time each week to pack snackpacks (a plastic grocery bag that contains eight to ten healthy snack food items) at the Rogers Samaritan Center location. The snackpacks are then placed in uniform delivery containers and transported to local schools by volunteer delivery drivers. Rural schools receive monthly delivery by SCC personnel, and school personnel are responsible for ensuring that snackpacks are discreetly provided to children for them to take home on weekends.

During the 2013-2014 school year SCC delivered approximately 6500 snackpacks to 95 elementary schools and Head Start centers each week in all four Northwest Arkansas counties (Washington, Benton, Carroll and Madison). During summer months when schools are not in session snackpacks are available at both the Rogers and Springdale Samaritan Cafés each Thursday, as well as schools that offer summer lunch programs, other nonprofit organizations and church feeding programs.

“National studies have continually shown that lack of proper and adequate nutrition in children directly leads to health problems, behavioral issues and ultimately to the ability to learn," said SCC Executive Director Debbie Rambo. “Many of these children go a day or even a weekend without any significant amount of food available.”

For a complete list of locations where snackpacks are available for pickup this summer visit online.

Consumer spending, which accounts for two-thirds of the nation’s gross domestic product, remains fickle as signs still point to timid behavior despite heavy promotional activity from retailers. And consumer activity is a widely watched metric among Wall Street and economic forecasters, particularly now that the second quarter earnings season is underway.

A Commerce Department report issued Tuesday (July 15) depicts a mixed bag with the slowest retail sales growth in more than two years rising just 0.2% last month. The results were well below the 0.6% Wall Street economists had expected. Set aside auto sales and the gain was 0.4% — just below economists’ expectations of 0.5% growth.

Retail and food services receipts overall were hindered by a slump in auto, home building and garden supply stores, and restaurant sales also dipped lower. On a positive note, grocery sales rose 0.1%, drug store sales increased 0.9%, while clothing and accessory store sales grew 0.8% from the prior month. Online sales rose 0.9% from May.

On a year-over-year basis all the category sales increased with the exception of music and books, down 2% and general merchandise store sales, down 0.1%.

Analysts agreed that while the headline number for June was disappointing, there were some underlying pockets of strength.

“Consumers are spending, selectively,” noted Jim Baird with Plante Moran Financial Advisors. 

The June sales headline was disappointing but overall the number reflects a solid ending for the second quarter, and much improved over a dismal first quarter, according to Chris Christopher Jr., economist and director with IHS Global Insight.

Several retailers have reported disappointing sales in the past month. Family Dollar and the Gap have all blamed falling sales on consumer caution. However, Costco and Kroger  have reported solid sales growth.

WAL-MART CONSUMER
Wal-Mart does not report monthly sales but the retailer continues to speak on behalf of consumer behaviors it witnesses, tracks and studies on a regular basis.

The retail giant said almost 80% of its store sales are generated by just 30% of its customer base which it classifies as loyalists. Stephen Quinn, chief marketing officer for Walmart U.S., told prospective suppliers at the July 8 Open Call event that the super loyalists spend on average $6,877 a year with the discount retailer and they make nearly twice as many trips (90) as other loyal consumers shopping across all categories. This important demographic comprises 43% of Wal-Mart’s store sales annually.

Quinn said two other groups of loyalist shoppers spend between $2,127 and $3,341 per year with Wal-Mart and make up a combined 34% of total store sales. Quinn said the socio-economic make-up of this loyalist group is diverse with respect to ethnicity, income and age.

GENERATIONAL SPENDING
Wal-Mart research shows that while Gen X is the largest group among its loyalist shopper base, Baby Boomers, Millennials and Seniors are all within a few percentage points. In terms of income, just as many households earning more than $100,000 a year shop at Wal-Mart as those earning less than $29,000. The biggest demographic income range is $40,000 to $49,000, with just a 1% difference in demographic size earning between $50,000 to $69,000, and another 1% difference below that earning between $70,000 to $99,000.

Quinn said the figures debunk the notion that Wal-Mart only appeals to lower income households.

He also said the prolonged economic recovery has favored those households with more income. Quinn said customer’s spending power among the top 1% has risen by nearly 12% since the recession ended. The bottom 90% has seen declines of 2% among in the household spending power since the recession ended.

For those households earning less than $50,000 the recovery and wage growth over the past year has been flat. Middle income to $100,000 has seen a slight uptick, while households earning more than $100,000 have seen positive improvements over the past year, according to Quinn.

He said the Wal-Mart customer is diverse, and in many ways resembles a slice of America, but the one thing all Wal-Mart customers have in common is their appreciation for value and low prices.

Three drivers for Van Buren-based USA Truck placed among the state's best at the 2014 Arkansas Trucking Championship July 11-12 in Rogers. The Little Rock-based Arkansas Trucking Association hosts this annual event.

Robert Williams won the Sleeper classification and was Grand Champion Runner-Up based on his cumulative score in the three segments of the Driving Championship: Written Exam, Pre-Trip Inspection and Road Test. Williams, who is also the reigning USA Truck Grand Champion, placed second out of 111 competitors overall and topped the 33 entrants in the Sleeper category, and will represent USA Truck at the 2014 National Truck Driving Championships Aug. 12-16 in Pittsburgh.

Williams is a company driver who lives in Hammond, La., and has been with USA Truck for 10 years. He has driven nearly 900,000 collision-free miles.

Eddie Mullins and David Large also competed for USA Truck. Mullins, an owner operator, lives in Hixson, Tenn., and is a 31-year industry veteran. He was the company’s Owner Operator Driver of the Month for April 2014 and has driven more than 900,000 collision-free miles since joining USA Truck in 2007.

Large, a company driver and a military veteran, lives in Bethany, Okla., and has been with USA Truck for nine years and has driven more than 600,000 collision-free miles.

In the Technician Championship, USA Truck was paced by Daniel Cupp's first-place finish in Air Conditioning/ Refrigeration while Jesse Elmore, the reigning USA Truck Grand Champion, took second in Air Systems & Brakes. Elmore finished fifth overall out of 32 competitors. Cupp placed eighth overall and Henry Ipema rounded out Team USA Truck with a 14th-place finish.

Elmore and Cupp work out of USA Truck’s Van Buren, Ark. terminal while Ipema is based at the company’s Chicago terminal. The trio will represent USA Truck at the 2014 National Technical Skills Competition Sept. 22-24 in Orlando, Fla.

An investor lawsuit against Hillshire Brands was filed this week by Shareholders Foundation Inc. The suit claims Hillshire executives breached their fiduciary duties by agreeing to sell the company to Tyson Foods, “too cheaply via an unfair process”

Meanwhile, Brower Piven, a securities litigation firm in Maryland, announced an investigation of Hillshire’s board of directors on possible breaches of fiduciary duties.

Class action suits and threat of suits are common in takeovers and mergers of publicly traded companies. Hillshire shareholders can collect $63 per share from the Tyson Foods cash deal worth a 70% premium, according to analysts who cover the companies.The all-cash transaction is valued at approximately $8.55 billion and expected to be completed in the next few months pending regulatory approval.

In an effort to boost flattening e-book sales Amazon announced its testing a e-book subscription service for under $10. The publishing house / retailer will offer Kindle users access to 600,000 e-books and thousands for audiobooks for $9.99 per month.

Many titles from Amazon's own publishing imprints are offered, but none of the big-5 publishers appear to be participating in Amazon’s offer.


That said, Simon & Schuster and HarperCollins have made e-books available for similar services from Scribd and Oyster, charging $9 per month and $10 per month, respectively.


Industry trade group AAP estimates that e-book sales were roughly flat in 2013 at $3 billion in the U.S. They made up a little over one-fifth of total trade publishing revenue of $14.6 billion.

Hospitality tax collections in Fort Smith and Van Buren point to an uptick in area business and tourism travel, while a federal agency report indicates a national downturn in travel and tourism spending during the first quarter of 2014.

For the first five months of 2014 the Fort Smith Convention & Visitors Bureau collected $307,168, up 1.7% compared to the same period of 2013. The city collects a 3% tax on lodging.

May hospitality tax collections in Fort Smith totaled $65,730, up 6.9% compared to May 2013.

However, summer collections are expected to decline based on a convention schedule change by the Jehovah Witnesses.

“We anticipate collections decreases for both June and July of 2014 due to the Christian Congregation of Jehovah Witnesses (CCJW) holding only international conferences for the summer of this year in celebration of their Centennial Year,” said Claude Legris, executive director of the Fort Smith Convention & Visitors Bureau. “As a result, we expect to show substantial increases in the summer of 2015 when CCJW will meet in Fort Smith for four consecutive weeks.”

Collections in Fort Smith during 2013 totaled $731,057, down 2% compared to the same period in 2012. During 2012, Fort Smith hospitality tax collections totaled $746,182, up 5.37% compared to the 2011 period. The 2011 collections were up 4.3% compared to 2010.

Hospitality tax collections in Van Buren for the first five months of 2014 total $178,758, up 2.16% compared to the same period in 2013. The city collects a 1% tax on lodging and a 1% prepared food tax. May receipts totaled $37,734, up 2.3%.

The city has enjoyed three consecutive months of gains – up 2.9% in March, up 2.1% in April and up 2.3% in May. February was down 0.9%, but that followed a 4.4% increase in January collections.

“We continue to see a slow steady climb in revenues for all hospitality sectors, with lodging seeing the bigger increase in revenue over 2013. I anticipate continued slow growth over the remainder of the summer and fall,” said Maryl Koeth, executive director of the Van Buren Advertising & Promotion Commission.

Collections in Van Buren during 2013 totaled $423,221.83, remarkably close to the $423,222.91 during 2012. During 2012, Van Buren hospitality tax collections totaled $425,554, up 5.2% compared to the 2011 collections. Hospitality tax collections in Van Buren during 2011 totaled $429,561, up 2.34% compared to 2010. The 2011 collections ended a two-year skid in Van Buren.

ARKANSAS TOURISM BOOST
Collections of Arkansas’ 2% tourism tax during the first four months of 2014 totaled $3.96 million, up 6.5% compared to the $3.716 million during the same period of 2013.

The 2% tourism tax set a record in 2013 by reaching $12.716 million, and Richard Davies, the state’s tourism chief, predicted 2014 would be even better for Arkansas’ tourism and travel sector. March and April set records for collections of the state’s tourism tax for the months.

The 2013 collections were up 2.5% compared to the $12.405 million in 2012, and well ahead of the $11.378 million slump in 2009 when national economic conditions proved tough on Arkansas’ tourism industry.

NATIONAL NUMBERS
The U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis reported June 27 that travel and tourism spending in the U.S. fell 1% in the first quarter after a 4.5% increase during the fourth quarter of 2013.

Real spending in the “recreation and entertainment” category dropped 11.2% during the quarter after posting a 0.9% gain in the fourth quarter of 2013. Real spending in the “food services and drinking places” category fell 3.5% in the first quarter after rising 7.4% in the fourth quarter.

The BEA report also included the following:
• Employment in the travel and tourism industries decelerated, increasing 2.1% in the first quarter of 2014 after increasing 2.7% (revised) in the fourth quarter of 2013;

• Total tourism-related spending was $1.5 trillion in the first quarter of 2014. It consisted of $873.1 billion (58%) of direct tourism spending and $625.7 billion (42%) of indirect tourism-related spending; and

• Total tourism-related employment was 7.7 million jobs in the first quarter of 2014 and consisted of 5.4 million (71%) direct tourism jobs and 2.3 million (29%) indirect tourism-related jobs.

An agreement Wednesday (July 16) by the Springdale Water and Sewer Commission to buy two compressed natural gas (CNG) trucks is proof that efforts by Sen. Jim Hendren, R-Gravette, the Northwest Arkansas Council and others to push for CNG infrastructure and acceptance in the region are beginning to show results.

With the purchase of two compressed natural gas vehicles, Springdale Water Utilities will become the first public entity in Northwest Arkansas to use CNG. According to a statement from the utility department, the two vehicles are a pilot program to determine whether cost savings can be accomplished by converting more of the utility's more than 70 vehicle to reliance on the alternative fuel.

Utility officials said the decision was spurred in part by news that the Arkansas Economic Development Commission approved a $400,000 rebate to convenience store operator Kum & Go to help it provide CNG as a fuel at its Springdale location near Interstate 49 and Elm Springs Road. The AEDC, through its energy office, earlier this year provided an identical $400,000 rebate to Kum & Go that will allow it to provide CNG at its location on Robinson Road near the Springdale Municipal Airport.

"With the announcement on the second CNG station in Springdale on Friday, we immediately fast tracked this opportunity and asked our commission to approve the purchase," Springdale Water Utility Executive Director Heath Ward said in a statement. "That demonstrates our enthusiasm for CNG and wanting Springdale Water to be at the forefront. I think the possibilities are great and others will follow our lead. The timing of everything to happen this fast was perfect.”

The state Energy Office has also made $150,000 available statewide to pay for a portion of a CNG vehicle's cost. Ward said his office will apply for those funds.

The rebate program applies to fleet operators for the conversion to CNG/propane or the purchase of a CNG/propane fleet. The rebate amount is dependent upon the cost of conversion or incremental cost of a clean fuel vehicle and allows for a rebate equivalent to the lesser of 50 percent of the conversion/incremental cost or $4,500 per vehicle.

“The popularity of clean fuel vehicles continues to rise, but more can be done to entice consumers to make the switch to clean fuels,” said Mitchell Simpson, deputy director of the Arkansas Energy Office. “By providing incentives to both fleet operators and fuel stations, there is a better opportunity for alternative motor fuels to take hold.”

COUNCIL PUSH
Rob Smith, a spokesman for the Northwest Arkansas Council, said improving access for CNG use is a piece of the overall effort to better market the region.

“Just like museums and the arts and all those important elements, it takes many things to make a region more attractive. ... This is one of those things, and it’s now one of our strategic action items,” Smith said.

The Council in April last year approved a new strategic action focused on informing public entities and private companies about the cost-saving advantages provided by CNG. It is the only strategic action item added following the late 2011 rollout of the overall action plan.

“Since that time, Council staff has remained in communication with companies, school districts, local governments, state officials and legislators about CNG,” noted a post on the Council’s website.

Until the Kum & Go CNG pumps are completed, CNG isn't available in Northwest Arkansas. CNG stations are operating in Conway, Damascus, Fort Smith, Jonesboro Little Rock, and North Little Rock. A station is being developed in West Memphis, and Arkansas Oklahoma Gas Corp. is working on its second station in Fort Smith. The first AOG station in Fort Smith was the first public CNG station in Arkansas, and it opened to the public in April 2011.

BROADER USE
The Fort Smith Board of Directors in September 2013 agreed to a plan in which the city will begin attempts to incorporate compressed natural gas vehicles into the city's moving fleet as older vehicles are aged out and replaced. At the time, City Administrator Ray Gosack said as the 2014 budgeting process moved forward, he would make sure that a focus on CNG vehicle purchases was a part of the city's fleet replacement plans. But he cautioned that a large influx of CNG-powered vehicles may still be a long way off due to the fact that the city must work within budget constraints.

Nationwide, there is a growing movement to convert private and public fleet vehicles to use CNG. Truck manufacturers like Navistar, Volvo and Kenworth began rolling out natural gas engines in 2013 and 2014. Many of the new engines permit natural gas carriers to carry heavier and longer loads than was previously available. Service and maintenance facilities are also being upgraded to handle natural gas engine operation and repair.

In October 2012, Chrysler Group announced that it would make a natural gas powered Ram Truck available for the broad retail market. At the time, Chrysler joined Honda Motor Co. as the only automakers selling compressed natural gas vehicles to U.S. retail consumers.

Beginning in April 2012, Oklahoma Gov. Mary Fallin (R) and Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper (D) were leaders in what became a 22-state “bipartisan” effort to convince major automakers to build more affordable compressed natural gas vehicles. Arkansas joined the effort in late 2012.

Oklahoma officials have also worked with the private sector to encourage construction of CNG stations. The state was expected to have 100 CNG fueling stations by the end of 2013, well ahead of the 31 stations in 2010. According to the industry, 100 stations would allow CNG users to travel anywhere in the state.

Tucked away in eastern Rogers near downtown, the House of Webster has quietly provided gourmet specialty food items since 1934. While its brands of jams, baking mixes found local favor, the company ships thousands of gift packages across the country each year, and also co-packs for other brands such as My Brothers Salsa, a local company and supplier to Wal-Mart Stores Inc.

Celebrating its 80th anniversary this year, House of Webster is stirring up its product mix, redesigning its website with plans to offer consumers online retail shopping, which is now handled out its quaint Country Store adjacent to the corporate office in Rogers.

There might even be a subscription service in the works for consumers who want to try new products each month, though the company is still formulating those plans.

EARLY ORIGINS/GIFTING
Founder Roy Webster began selling baked goods and homemade preserves while he delivered newspapers some 125 miles each day back in 1934. His baked items were such a hit with his customers, Webster purchased a bakery in 1939 in downtown Rogers to keep up with demand, according to Ryan Castrellon, marketing manager for House of Webster.

In a move to sell more products, the young company began offering gift packages of their jams and baking mixes to corporations around the holiday period. The first customer to sign on was Harvey Jones, founder of Jones Trucking in Springdale, around 1946.

Castrellon said gifting is still a big part of the company’s overall business model which generates revenue in three ways: Gifting sales, wholesale and co-packing, all of which account for about a third of the company’s overall profits. The rest of the firm’s corporate gifting sales is repeat business.

He said during the economic recession, gifting sales receded but in the past year they have returned to normal levels and are the fasting growing of the three income segments. The company is working on programs that will incorporate year-round gifting, which is now mostly timed around the Christmas holiday season.

CO-PACKING NICHE
Because gifting is largely a seasonal business, House of Webster looked for other ways to utilize its facility and workforce with private label wholesale and co-packing services.

Helen Lampkin of My Brother’s Salsa uses House of Webster as a co-packer for her line of gourmet salsa products sold in Wal-Mart, Sam’s Club, Fresh Market and numerous other retailers across the nation. 

Lampkin told The City Wire that she first began making the salsa in her kitchen with her own recipes, but as demand for the product grew she sought to outsource the production while keeping control of the product formulation. House of Webster fit that bill, and the local manufacturer had a reputation for quality brands of its own, which was important to Lampkin. My Brothers Salsa also uses another processor in Alma for some of its co-packing needs.

Castrellon said co-packing involves working with the brand owners to make the product to their specifications, using their recipes and labels. Product is then shipped out to the customer on a wholesale basis. He said the company continues to grow its co-packing sales thanks in part to the success of companies like My Brothers Salsa.

OPERATIONS 101
In 2006, House of Wester was sold to Griffin Foods, but it still maintains its own brands and continues to develop new products through its research and development team and chef who work in the 100,000-square-foot manufacturing facility in Rogers.

“We are in the midst of expanding by adding a 24,000 square-foot freezer unit, which will allow for bigger orders of ingredients used in our products,” Castrellon said.

About 100 people work at the Rogers plant where they cook and package more than 100 products onsite under their own brand. But they also do a large volume of private label business for retailers on a wholesale basis. Private label contracts make up about half of the company’s wholesale business.

The one plant in Rogers can produce about 34,000 pint-size jars of food items each day from jelly, preserves, sauces, pickled vegetables, salad dressings, salsas and mustards. The best selling product today is apple butter, according to Castrellon. Annually, he said the plant turns out 6.7 million jars of product.

WHAT’S NEXT
“We are excited to introduce several new products in the coming months starting in August with four new condiments. The mustards include Honey-Horseradish-Dijon, Jalapeno and Ozark Stout Ale. We also have a garlic, herb mayonnaise. These items debuted in the Fancy Foods show in New York and were very well received,” Castrellon said.

In January, he said the company will introduce four new pepper spreads that are infused with fruit flavors like strawberry, blueberry, raspberry and mandarin orange. The pepper spreads can be used as cooking sauces, marinade or eaten with bagels or breads.

He said the company will also unveil a custom label service on its website that will allow customers to order products with their own personalized labels which can be given as customer appreciation gifts or as tokens of appreciation at weddings or other festivities.

“We recently tested this application with two local businesses who said they got great positive feedback from their customers who liked the products. We do not plan to impose minimum orders on this feature and hope that individual consumers will use it,” Castrellon said.

The local foreclosure markets in Northwest Arkansas and the Fort Smith metro areas continue to slow with fewer filings each month following a national trend.

Throughout the first half of 2014 there were 406 total foreclosure filings in Benton and Washington counties, down 62% from the same period last year. That rate of decrease was nearly three times the level reported for the U.S. housing market, according to Irvine, Calif.-based RealtyTrac.

There were 613,874 U.S. properties with foreclosure filings — default notices, scheduled auctions and bank repossessions — in the first half of 2014, down 23% from the first half of 2013. The report also shows that 0.47% of all U.S. housing units (one in 214) had at least one foreclosure filing in the first six months of the year.

Foreclosure filings in Arkansas fell 42% from a year ago. In the Fort Smith metro area, Sebastian and Crawford counties reported 111 foreclosure filings from January through June of this year. The number of filings declined 57% from the same period in 2013.

RealtyTrac reports that June filing numbers were lowest since the housing bubble burst in 2006. In Benton County there were 44 new filings recorded in June, compared to 103 a year ago. Washington County reported 28 new foreclosure filings in June, down 56% from a year ago. 

Sebastian County reported 44 new foreclosure filings in June, down 47% from a year ago. Crawford County had 7 new filings last month, compared to 23 filings in June 2013.

“Over the next six to nine months nationwide foreclosure numbers should start to flat line at consistently historically normal levels,” said Daren Blomquist, vice president at RealtyTrac. “There continue to be concerning trends in some states and local markets that clearly indicate those markets are not completely out of the woods when it comes to the lingering foreclosure problem left over from the housing bust.”

Arkansas is not one of those states. The Natural State ranks 42nd among the 50 states surveyed by RealtyTrac in terms of foreclosure activity.

The number of foreclosure listings in from Benton County to Sebastian County totaled 214 as of Wednesday (July 16), according to Jim Long, real estate agent with Crye-Leike in Bentonville. The distressed listings are a little higher compared to the 204 reported last month, but lower than the 322 listings of foreclosures in Northwest Arkansas and the Fort Smith metro area in December.

“While it’s important that any remaining foreclosure infection is addressed promptly to keep it from festering, foreclosures are no longer a widespread contagion threatening to derail the housing market’s return to full health,” Blomquist said.

More loan modifications also help to curb the number of foreclosure sales, according to Hope Now. The latest date available is from May which shows total loan modifications, short sales, deeds in lieu and workout plans outpaced foreclosure sales by a margin of almost four to one (approximately 151,600 solutions versus 39,700 foreclosure sales), according to Hope Now spokesman Brad Dwin.

In May, mortgage servicers completed 102,000 workout plans for homeowners. These are non-loan modification, non-foreclosure alternative that provide short-term relief for homeowners who continue to work on permanent options. Repayment plans and liquidation options are part of this category. Hope Now also reports completed foreclosure sales declined again in May by 4%, while foreclosure starts totaled 67,200 across the nation, up almost 4% from the the prior month.

At the end of the second quarter there were approximately 1.9 million mortgages that were 60 days or more delinquent, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association. Serious delinquencies have declined for three consecutive months.

Eric Selk, executive director for Hope Now, said there have been 7.05 million loan modifications made since 2007. 

“We have noted the number of short term solutions in this month’s data as well. These non-permanent options are crucial to homeowners who may have a loan modification or other permanent course of action on the horizon. There are myriad options for homeowners struggling to pay their mortgages and the efforts of the industry remain strong. Housing challenges vary from state to state and city to city and mortgage servicers have many tools at their disposal to handle these challenges,” Selk added.
 
FORECLOSURES (January-June)
Benton County
2014: 284
2013: 718

Washington County
2014: 122
2013: 356

Sebastian County
2014: 68
2013: 142

Crawford County
2014: 43
2013: 116

Consumers in Arkansas are not as optimistic as their neighbors in Missouri or Oklahoma and the there is division in sentiment within the Natural State as well, according to the first Arvest Consumer Sentiment Survey released today (July 17).

The consumer sentiment index for Arkansas was 67.4, trailing that of Missouri (68.6) and Oklahoma (76.4). The national index for June is 82.5. The local survey was conducted in May and June by the Center for Business and Economic Research at the University of Arkansas and the University of Oklahoma’s Public Opinion Learning Laboratory.

“These new consumer sentiment data indicate that Arkansas can expect continued on-again, off-again growth. Until consumers indicate that they feel confident about their economic futures, personal income growth will be the key to additional spending and a breakout recovery. We will look forward to our next data point to begin telling us about trends in optimism,” Kathy Deck, director for CBER at the UA, said in a statement.

Deck said the initial readings indicate that consumers in the region, and especially in Arkansas, are “leery” about overall economic conditions in the near future, although they reported being relatively upbeat about their current financial status. 

“The consumer sentiment numbers seem consistent with the contradictory nature of other economic data for the state, particularly the declining labor force in the face of improving payroll employment,” Deck added.

The report indicates a rising degree of confidence among higher income levels and those with advanced graduate degrees. Arkansas families earning under $75,000 annually registered at 62.6 on the index, families earning more than $75,000 a year indexed at a reading of 82.2. A similar variance was found in the index by educational attainment with high school or less registering at 60.8, the same level as those with bachelor’s degrees. This was considerably lower than the 81.7 index level for consumers with graduate degrees.

As predicted, those with jobs have a brighter outlook than the unemployed ranks looking for work. The report found employed respondents in Arkansas registered a reading of 71.8, lower than the 74.2 for the three-state region. Unemployed Arkansans indexed at 57.3, below the 61.3 reading in the three-state area.

The Arkansas economy has demonstrated contradictory economic performance during the first half of 2014, according to Deck. 

Declines in the unemployment rate, usually considered positive overall, can be accounted for by declines in the labor force, which is not positive news, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. There are 16,000 fewer jobs in the state today than at the peak ahead of the recession. The Bureau of Economic Analysis reports that state personal income levels have grown faster than the national average since 2000 but declined at the end of 2013 and beginning of 2014 due to declines in farm income.

Homeowners in Arkansas were not as optimistic as renters according to the report. Homeowners indexed at 66.1, while renters had a reading of 68.6, both were below the respective regional readings of 71.1 and 69.8.

The presence of children in the home also raised the level the optimism among Arkansas respondents with a reading of 69.5, the same as the regional index level. Arkansas households without children indexed at 66.4, lower than the 69.9 level in the tri-state region.

The last subgroup in the survey was an index by age. Among Arkansas respondents those between the ages 25 and 44 had the highest reading at 73.9. Adults between the ages of 45 and 64 registered a 68.1 on the index. Young adults indexed the lowest at 54.8 while senior citizens 65 and older registered 62.3.

Again, Arkansas residents had lower sentiments by age category than the region as a whole, which indexed young adults 18 to 24 years at 73.3. Adults between 25 and 44 indexed at 78.3, while older adults (45 to 64) registered 69.3 and 63.4 for seniors over 65 years of age.

This first report will serve as a baseline for future surveys every six months, the next report is due out in late November, ahead of the holiday season.

“When Arvest first considered sponsoring this survey, we thought it would be beneficial for our communities to have an accurate reading of what consumers think about the economy in the states where we operate,” said Donny Story, CEO of Arvest Bank in Fayetteville. “These first results give us better, more localized, information than what has been available. What is important is simply knowing where people in Arkansas stand in their views — especially since consumers drive the majority of economic activity. With future results, we will be able see if sentiment in Arkansas is trending up or down with sentiment nationally.”

Denver-based TeleTech Holdings announced Thursday (July 17) it will open a call center in Jonesboro that will initially employ 150 but could expand up to 600 jobs. The center will be TeleTech’s second Arkansas operation following the recent opening of a 250-job center in Sherwood.

The opening of the Jonesboro site is scheduled for August of this year.
 
“With an existing TeleTech site in Sherwood and a new site in Jonesboro, we are expanding our footprint in Arkansas,” said Ken Tuchman, chairman and chief executive officer of TeleTech. “The new Jonesboro site will be integral to TeleTech’s continued growth, particularly within the healthcare vertical, a complicated industry that requires an exceptional customer experience.”
 
TeleTech is actively hiring for its new Jonesboro site, which will support a leading healthcare insurance company. TeleTech is specifically looking to hire customer experience representatives, team leads, trainers, recruiters, technical assistance and IT specialists, operations managers and facilities staff.
 
“As a global company with locations worldwide, we are focused on hiring the best talent in the world to serve our clients. We have been extremely impressed with the strong workforce in Central and Northeast Arkansas and we look forward to growing our relationship in this region,” said Todd Baxter, SVP of Global Operations at TeleTech. “We are excited to join the Jonesboro community and are committed to a continued partnership with the state of Arkansas.”
 
TeleTech, founded in 1982, is a leading global provider of analytics-driven, technology-enabled services. The Company offers an integrated platform that combines analytics, strategy, process, systems integration, technology and operations to support customer service for Global 1000 clients and their customers.

The Poultry Federation has named Michael Kidd as its 2014 Industry Leader of Year. Kidd is the director of the Center of Excellence for Poultry Science and head of the Department of Poultry Science at the University of Arkansas,

“It’s an absolute personal honor,” said Kidd. “I can’t get over being honored like this. We are working hard to get more students trained to become great leaders and placed in key industry jobs, as well as supporting our research and extension programs.”

The Poultry Federation is a tri-state trade organization representing the poultry and egg industries in Arkansas, Missouri and Oklahoma. Kidd was recognized during the 55th Annual Poultry Festival in Rogers. The award, which has been presented since 1955, recognizes the outstanding achievements of poultry and egg executives and their contribution to the industry.

“Dr. Kidd has revitalized the Poultry Science Department at the University of Arkansas by increasing the number of students and increasing their participation,” said Marvin Childers, president of the federation. “He has led efforts to have the department become more engaged with the industry. Dr. Kidd supports the industry with research. In doing this, he is also developing future poultry industry leaders.”

Kidd has been a lab tech for Hudson Foods, a research director and research manager for Nutri-Quest, has consulted in more than 30 countries, and has more than 355 peer-reviewed manuscripts. He has served as president of the Poultry Science Association and department head at the Department of Poultry Science at Mississippi State University.

Cargill Meat Solutions said its Honeysuckle White and Shady Brook Farms are the first major turkey brands to remove growth-promoting antibiotics from all turkeys across the independent farms they work with, without charging a premium price. 

Customers has said they want more natural turkey and Cargill says it has responded working with the U.S. Department of Agriculture to develop a three-part verification process for turkey production that exceeds all current government and industry standards:

· All turkeys are raised by independent farmers,
· Producers are trained on proper animal handling practices, and
· No antibiotics are used for growth promotion (antibiotics only used for treatment of illness and disease prevention)
 
“Consumer research tells us people are more interested than ever in where their food comes from and how it is produced,” said Ruth Kimmelshue, president of the Cargill Turkey & Cooked Meats business.  “We believe ending the use of antibiotics to promote growth in turkeys is an important step that provides consumers with nutritious and affordable options.  Working with our broad network of independent farmers, Cargill has the experience, resources and capabilities to successfully make this change and meet the needs of our customers and consumers.” 

Cargill’s initiative to remove growth-promoting antibiotics was reinforced last December when the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced a three-year plan to phase out the use of antibiotics that are medically important in human health and are also used to improve growth or feed efficiency in livestock and poultry.

“Fresh, whole turkeys raised without growth-promoting antibiotics will be available this Thanksgiving under Cargill’s signature brand labels, Honeysuckle White and Shady Brook Farms,” Kimmelshue said.  “All Cargill turkey flocks will be free of growth-promoting antibiotics by the end of 2015.”

Arkansas commercial airport trends that began early in 2014 have continued through June, with traffic increases in Northwest Arkansas (XNA) and Fort Smith and enplanement declines in Little Rock.

Travelers flying out of XNA during June totaled 65,022, up 14.3% compared to the 56,889 during June 2013. For the first six months of 2014, enplanements at XNA total 308,961, up 8.34% compared to the same period in 2013. The January-June 2014 traffic is up 5.46% compared to the same period in 2007, the year XNA reached record enplanements of 598,886.

For all of 2013, XNA enplanements totaled 579,679, up 2.58% compared to the same period in 2012. The enplanement growth remained stable through the year, with enplanements up 2.42% at the end of the first quarter of 2013.

Enplanements at XNA totaled 565,045 during 2012, up just 0.4% compared to 2011. Although slight, the gain prevented XNA from posting two-consecutive years of enplanement declines. XNA’s first full year of traffic was 1999, and the airport posted eight consecutive years of enplanement gains before seeing a decline in 2008.

FORT SMITH TRAFFIC
The Fort Smith Regional Airport, served by flights from Atlanta and Dallas-Fort Worth, posted June enplanements of 8,393, up 6.56% compared to June 2013. Enplanements for the first six months of 2014 total 44,730, up 6.39% compared to the same period in 2013.

For all of 2013, enplanements at the airport totaled 84,520, down 2.46% compared to the same period in 2012. The decline ended three consecutive years of enplanement gains at the airport.

With 25,785 enplanements for the first six months of 2014, American Airlines accounts for 57.6% of commercial traffic out of Fort Smith. Delta Air Lines had the remaining market share for the first six months of 2014.

American enplanements out of Fort Smith are up 4.92% for the first six months of 2014 compared to the same period of 2013, and Delta enplanements are up 8.46%.

LITTLE ROCK NUMBERS
Enplanements at the Bill & Hillary Clinton Airport (Little Rock National Airport) were 99,066 in June, down 3.75% compared to June 2013. Enplanements for the first six months of 2014 were 514,958, down 6.19% compared to the same period of 2013.

Enplanements in 2013 totaled 1.085 million, down 5.45% compared to 2012. Enplanements in 2012 totaled 1.147 million, up 4.07% compared to 2011. The 2012 numbers ended five consecutive years of enplanement declines at Arkansas’ largest commercial field.

Among the top three carriers in Little Rock, only one has posted enplanement gains between January and June. Southwest, the largest carrier, has seen enplanements decline 16.13% in the first six months. American, the second largest, has posted at 1.46% gain in the period, while Delta has a 2.44% decline in enplanements during the first six months of 2014.

It’s shaping up to be a busy summer for two entrepreneurs – one a recent high school graduate – pushing baby food and video games.

Fran Free, CEO and founder of Oh Baby Foods, said she has lots of irons in the fire as she gears up for a new product launch of toddler foods she hopes to bring to market by March 2015.

“Growth takes capital and expanding a product line quite be quite intensive in terms of time and money. It takes about a year to develop from the concept phase to end product. We are working to secure about $2 million in added capital to support this new product launch,” Free said.

Free is not just interested in securing the loan, but she also hopes to garner advisory expertise with strategic funding partners. The company recently was able to pay off an investor, which Free said felt “really good.”

Earlier this week Oh Baby completed its second production run in two months as it gears up to enter eight states in August with rollouts at Whole Foods and other retailers. The eight states are new markets for Oh Baby, and will give the company a presence in 39 states.

“We are excited to be going to the Rocky Mountain area and the Northeast and Mid- Atlantic regions, where we have not been sold before. We recently brought on new brokers in those regions which took some time to find,” Free said.

Because Oh Baby Foods uses fresh fruit and vegetables in its product formulations the summer harvest period is busy for Free who is working to negotiate contracts with suppliers for the next year.

“We had a production run yesterday, and it was the first time I haven’t been to there to oversee it. This time my food scientist took care of it for me so I could continue to work on other things like the supplier contracts. This is huge for me to be able to delegate something as important as production runs. But having a food scientist to oversee production responsibilities which take place in California makes sense at this time,” Free said.

OVERWATCH
Since The City Wire’s last update, Overwatch CEO Josh Moody graduated from high school and is now working full-time toward product launches that will begin as early as next month.

Moody said the Overwatch gaming application for iOs Apple users was beta tested and submitted to Apple for approval this week. He expects the app will go up on the App store in the next two weeks or so. The Android app continues to be developed, and the company will begin announcing more information about its release in the near future.

Moody said the beta testing including both Apple and Android users and the developers received some good feedback from the tests which they used to tweak the iOs user interface. Improvements were made to the overall gaming experience regarding the location of teammates and use of radar that helps track opponents. Moody said hardware components are taking longer to complete as they are working with Cybergun’s manufacturing facilities based outside the U.S.

“The finalized design on the rail mount hardware is done. We are waiting on receipt of the 3-D printed design from the manufacturer so we can put it through durability and functionality testing. At that point we order manufacturing to begin. We expect to have the hardware case mounts in retail stores before the holiday season,” Moody said.

In the meantime, Overwatch’s armband hardware has been approved and is ready to manufacture once the apps are approved by Apple and Android.

“We still have to design the packaging for the armband product which will be sold online once the apps are approved and manufacturing begins,” Moody said.

The company has not been without a few setbacks. The largest of those being a trademark challenge by a large gaming company.

“We were able to come to an agreement with them, successfully securing the Overwatch trademark for our mobile gaming use — and making us the official Overwatch app on both the iOS and Android app stores,” Moody said.

He said the company is also looking for other products that will enhance the game play of the apps. They are acquiring a Heads Up Display (HUD) which it will use for experimental testing.

“We are extremely excited about the future of HUD integration with Overwatch, as it offers a unique, highly unobtrusive way to display important gaming information right in a player's line-of-sight,” Moody said.

He explained that the HUD product is a SNOW2 made by Recon Instruments which was designed for snowboard/ski goggles, but it can modified to fit into a paintball mask.

All of this work takes money and Moody said the company is working to nail down its final funding round of $300,000.

“The product will be released regardless of the funding raise, but the raise will give us the necessary funds to operate a full marketing campaign to promote our release,” Moody said.

The second quarter was kind to Pine Bluff-based Simmons First National Corp. and Conway-based Home BancShares Inc., with Simmons posting results that beat estimates and Home BancShares – the parent company of Centennial Bank – setting a new quarterly income record.

Simmons First reported better-than-expected second quarter earnings before the opening bell on Thursday (July 17), propelled upward by the Pine Bluff bank's continued shopping spree for strategic out-of-state assets and foreclosed FDIC properties.

For the period ended June 30, the Arkansas regional bank posted second quarter net income of 60 cents, or $9.9 million per share, up 53.8% from 39 cents a year ago. Analysts surveyed by MarketWatch had expected Simmons First to post second quarter earnings of 54 cents per share on revenue of $53.6 million.

“The second quarter was a landmark quarter for Simmons. We announced two acquisitions totaling approximately $3 billion in assets and reported record core earnings and record core earnings per share for the quarter,” George Makris Jr., chairman and CEO, said in a statement.

Overall, Simmons posted record core earnings of $9.2 million for the second quarter of 2014, an increase of $2.7 million, or 42.8%, compared to the same quarter last year. Diluted core earnings per share were a record $0.56, an increase of $0.17, or 43.6%. Core earnings exclude $755,000 in net after-tax earnings.

During the second quarter, Simmons announced two out-of-state acquisitions that will add nearly $3 billion in assets to the holding bank’s financial books. In late May, Simmons announced it planned to acquire all of the outstanding common stock of Springfield-based Liberty Bancshares Inc. in an all-stock transaction valued at nearly $207 million.

Earlier in the same month, Simmons entered into a similar agreement to buyout Community First Bancshares of Union City, Tenn., in a stock-deal value at more than $243 million. Both deals are expected to close by end of the year.

Here are other highlights of Simmons quarterly earnings report:
• Total loans, including those acquired, of $2.4 billion, increased by $512 million, or 27.3%, compared to a year ago.

• Total deposits jumped nearly 30% to $3.6 billion, an increase of $829 million from a year ago. Total non-time deposits totaled $2.6 billion, up 72%.

• Net interest income of $40.4 million, an increase of $10.8 million, or 36.7%, from the same period of 2013. This increase was driven by growth in the legacy loan portfolio and assets acquired through Simmons’ $53.6 million takeover of Metropolitan National Bank of Little Rock in late 2013, the bank said.

Simmons’s shares (NASDAQ: SFNC) closed Thursday at $37.63, down $1.79 in an overall market decline brought about by international incidents. During the past 52 weeks the share price has ranged from a $43.22 high to a $24.06 low.

HOME BANCSHARES
Home BancShares reported record second quarter earnings, easily beating a year ago profits and matching Wall Street expectations to the penny.

For the period ended June 30, the bank posted quarterly profit of $28.4 million, or 43 cents per share, up nearly 60.5%, or $10.8 million, from $17.7 million and 31 cents a year ago. A survey of analysts polled by MarketWatch had expected the fast-growing Arkansas bank to report earnings of 43 cents per share.

Excluding after tax items, Home Bancshares reported second quarter earnings of 44 cents per share versus 32 cents a share a year ago. Company Chairman John Allison said he was pleased with the record quarterly results and is looking to continue to grow in the future.

“During the upcoming quarters, we recognize there is a need for organic loan growth,” Allison said. “We are encouraged by the opportunities we have in front of us because we currently have the largest unfunded loan pipeline in our history.”

During the second quarter, Home BancShares said it closed or merged four Arkansas and two Florida locations. In late April, Home BancShares purchased Traditions Bank of Florida in a stock deal worth $43 million. That transaction closed on Thursday (July 17). Following that deal, the Arkansas bank said it had $7.1 billion in total assets, $5.6 billion in deposits, $4.6 billion in loans and 156 branches across Arkansas, Florida and South Alabama.

Additional highlights of Home BancShares second quarter results include:
• Net interest income for the second quarter of 2014 increased 74% to $78 million from $44.8 million during the second quarter of 2013.

• Total non-covered loans were $4.13 billion at June 30, 2014. Total covered loans came in at $263.2 million for the same period.

• Stockholders’ equity was $897.2 million at June 30, 2014 compared to $841 million at December 31, 2013, an increase of $56.3 million.

Home BancShares (NASDAQ: HOMB) closed Thursday at $30, down $1.08 in the overall market decline. During the past 52 weeks the share price has ranged from a $38.98 high to a $24.83 low.

Cox Communications has announced it will double the speeds for its most popular Cox High Speed Internet packages in Arkansas. Customers who subscribe to the company’s Preferred package will see their speeds increase from 25 Mbps to 50 Mbps. Speeds for subscribers of the Premier package will increase from 50 Mbps to 100 Mbps. The new speeds automatically go into effect by July 18.

With speeds as fast as 150Mbps, Cox is continuing to provide its customers the fastest speeds in Arkansas. The increased speeds come on the heels of the company’s announced plans to offer Gigabit speeds to all customers by 2017.

“Our customers tell us that speed matters,” stated Kim Rowell, market leader of Cox Communications in Arkansas. “We know this is especially important in today’s connected world where more and more devices are connected through in-home WiFi networks. We will continue to invest in our network to bring our customers the best online experience possible.”

Cox customers with the Preferred or higher package also have access to more than 250,000 WiFi hotspots when they travel so they can stay connected on-the-go.

The higher speeds greatly increase as customers move up the packages Cox offers. Choosing the best package as well as the right modem equipment will provide the fastest Internet and strongest wireless signals to all the devices they use. Customers interested in experiencing the new Internet speeds should visit the company’s high speed Internet website or a local Cox Solutions Store to test speeds for themselves.

Cox Communications is a broadband communications and entertainment company, providing advanced digital video, Internet and telephone services over its own nationwide IP network. The third-largest U.S. cable TV company, Cox serves approximately six million residences and businesses.

Arkansas’ jobless rate fell to 6.2% in June, with the number of employed virtually flat compared to June 2013 and the labor force size shrinking by almost 20,000 in the year-over-year period. However, the monthly estimate showed a gain of 3,200 jobs year-over-year in the state’s troubled manufacturing sector.

The June rate of 6.2% was below the May rate of 6.4% and below the June 2013 rate of 7.6%, according to the report issued Friday (July 18) by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. The June figures are subject to revision.

Arkansas’ labor force was an estimated 1.305 million in June, below the 1.315 million in May, and down 1.46% compared to 1.325 million in June 2013. The year-over-year comparison shows an estimated 19,465 fewer Arkansans in the labor force. There are 53,545 fewer Arkansans in the labor force compared to June 2007, a decline of almost 3.93%.

The number of employed in Arkansas during June was 1.224 million, below May employment of 1.231 million, and just 196 estimated jobs fewer compared to levels in June 2013. The number of unemployed was an estimated 81,609 during June, down from the 84,199 in May, and well below the 100,825 in June 2013.

Arkansas’ annual average jobless rate fell from 7.9% during 2011 to a revised 7.5% during 2012. The initial annual average jobless rate for Arkansas during 2013 is 7.5%.

Year-over-year, the Leisure and Hospitality (tourism) sector was up 3,800 jobs, manufacturing was up 3,200 jobs, Education and Health Services jobs rose by 3,000, and the construction sector was up 2,300 jobs.

ARKANSAS SECTOR NUMBERS
In the Trade, Transportation and Utilities sector — Arkansas’ largest job sector — employment during June was an estimated 241,700, down from 243,100 in May and ahead of the 240,300 during June 2013. Employment in the sector hit a high of 251,800 in March 2007.

Manufacturing jobs in Arkansas during June totaled 155,200, up compared to 153,500 in May and above the 152,000 in June 2013. Employment in the manufacturing sector fell in 2013 to levels not seen since early 1968. Peak employment in the sector was 247,300 in February 1995.

Government job employment during June was 214,600, down from 214,800 in May and below the 215,500 during June 2013.

The state’s Education and Health Services sector during June had 174,600 jobs, down from the 176,000 during May and up from 171,600 during June 2013. Employment in the sector is up more than 22% compared to June 2004.

Arkansas’ tourism sector (leisure & hospitality) employed 108,700 during June, down from 108,800 during May, and above the 104,900 during June 2013. Employment in this sector reached a high of 109,100 in March.

The construction sector employed an estimated 47,300 in June, up from 47,000 in May and above the 45,000 in June 2013. The sector is off the employment high of 57,600 reached in March 2007.

NATIONAL, REGIONAL DATA
The BLS report also noted that 49 states had unemployment rate decreases from a year earlier, and one state had and increase. The national jobless rate during June was 6.1%, and was down from the 7.5% in June 2013.

Rhode Island and Mississippi had the highest unemployment rate among the states in June at 7.9%. North Dakota again had the lowest jobless rate at 2.7%.

The June jobless rate in Oklahoma was 4.5%, down from 4.6% in May and down from 5.5% in June 2013.

Missouri’s jobless rate during June was 6.5%, down from 6.6% in May and down from 6.8% in June 2013.