Union County vs. Arkansas
Comparative Trends Analysis:
Total Employment Growth and Change, 1969-2022
Introduction
Union County vs. Arkansas
Union County:
2022 Jobs = 23,807
2022 Percent of State = 1.36%
Arkansas:
2022 Jobs = 1,755,536
2022 Percent of U.S. = 0.83%
Employment numbers remain the most popular and frequently cited statistics used for tracking local area economic conditions and trends. The Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) employment estimates reported measure the number of full- and part-time wage and salary employees, plus the number of proprietors of unincorporated businesses. People holding more than one job are counted in the employment estimates for each job they hold. This means BEA employment estimates represent a job count, not a people count. Also, BEA employment is by place-of-work, rather than by place-of-residence. Jobs held by neighboring county residents who commute to Union County to work are included in the employment count for Union County.
Data Definition:
The BEA employment series for states and local areas comprises estimates of the number of jobs, full-time plus part-time, by place of work. Full-time and part-time jobs are counted at equal weight. Employees, sole proprietors, and active partners are included, but unpaid family workers and volunteers are not included. Proprietors employment consists of the number of sole proprietorships and the number of partners in partnerships. The description "by place of work" applies to the wage and salary portion of the series and, with relatively little error, to the entire series. The proprietors employment portion of the series, however, is more nearly by place of residence because, for nonfarm sole proprietorships, the estimates are based on IRS tax data that reflect the address from which the proprietor's individual tax return is filed, which is usually the proprietor's residence. The nonfarm partnership portion of the proprietors employment series reflects the tax-filing address of the partnership, which may be either the residence of one of the partners or the business address of the partnership. The employment estimates are designed to be consistent with the estimates of wages and salaries and proprietors' income that are part of the personal income series. The employment estimates are based on the same sets of source data as the corresponding earnings estimates and are prepared with parallel methodologies. Two forms of proprietors' income-the income of limited partnerships and the income of tax-exempt cooperatives-have no corresponding employment estimates.
Total Employment, 1969-2022
Total Employment, 1969-2022
Figure 1.
Figure 1 traces Union County's annual total employment for the period 1969-2022 to illustrate total employment patterns over time. During this 54-year period, Union County's total employment rose from 19,978 in 1969 to 23,807 in 2022, for a net gain of 3,829, or 19.17%.
Total Employment, 1969-2022
Total Employment, 1969-2022
Figure 2.
Figure 2 tracks Arkansas' annual total employment for the period 1969-2022 to illustrate total employment patterns over time. During this 54-year period, Arkansas' total employment rose from 799,917 in 1969 to 1,755,536 in 2022, for a net gain of 955,619, or 119.46%.
Total Employment Indices (1969=100): 1969-2022
Total Employment Indices (1969=100): 1969-2022
Figure 3.
Figure 3 shows Union County's total employment growth in a broader context by offering direct comparisons across time with Arkansas, the United States. The growth indices shown here express each region's total employment in 1969 as a base figure of 100, and the total employments in later years as a percentage of the 1969 base figure. This method allows for more direct comparison of differences in total employment growth between regions that may differ vastly in size.
Union County's overall total employment growth was 19.17% over 1969-2022 trailed Arkansas' increase of 119.46%, and fell below the United States' increase of 133.32%.
Total Employment as a Percent of the Arkansas Total: 1969-2022
Total Employment as a Percent of the Arkansas Total: 1969-2022
Figure 4.
Another interesting and insightful way of contrasting the total employment growth of Union County is to trace its individual percentage contributions to Arkansas' statewide total employment over time, as shown in Figure 4. A rising share means a region's total employment grew faster, or declined less, than Arkansas' total employment, while a declining share shows it grew more slowly.
In 1969, Union County's total employment comprised 2.50% of Arkansas' total employment, while in 2022 it comprised 1.36% thereby yielding a -1.14% share-shift.
   
 
Total Employment Share-Shift
2022 vs. 1969
 
Share-
Shift*
 
2022
vs.
1969
-1.14%
=
1.36%
-
2.50%
 
   
Union County Total Employment:
Annual Percent Change, 1970-2022
Union County Total Employment:
Annual Percent Change, 1970-2022
Figure 5.
Figure 5 shows the short-run pattern of Union County's total employment growth by tracking the year-to-year percent change over 1970-2022. The average annual percent change for the entire 53-year period is also illustrated on this chart to provide a benchmark for gauging periods of relative high--and relative low--growth against the backdrop of the long-term average.
On average, Union County's total employment grew at an annual rate of 0.37% over 1970-2022. The county recorded its highest growth in 1977 (5.93%) and posted its lowest growth in 2003 (-8.47%). In 2022, Union County's total employment grew by 2.55%
Union County Total Employment:
Annual Percent Change and Decade Averages Over 1970-2022
Union County Total Employment:
Annual Percent Change and Decade Averages Over 1970-2022
Figure 6.
Over the past five decades some counties have experienced extreme swings in growth, and often such swings have tended to coincide with the decades themselves. Figure 6 again shows the annual percent change in Union County's total employment since 1970, but this time they are overlayed with average growth rates for the decade of the 1970s, 1980s, 1990s, 2000s, 2010s, and 2020-2022.
During the 1970s, Union County's annual total employment growth rate averaged 2.37%. It averaged 0.03% throughout the 1980s, 0.55% during the 1990s, -0.56% during the 2000s, -0.54% throughout the 2010s, 0.33% thus far this decade (2020-2022).
Total Employment Growth:
Average Annual Percent Change by Decade
Total Employment Growth:
Average Annual Percent Change by Decade
Figure 7.
Figure 7 compares the decade average growth rates for Union County noted in the previous graph with the corresponding decade averages for Arkansas and the nation. As the chart reveals, Union County's average annual total employment growth lagged Arkansas' average during the 1970s (2.37% vs. 2.60%), amounted to less than Arkansas' average in the 1980s (0.03% vs. 1.45%), trailed Arkansas' average throughout the 1990s (0.55% vs. 2.08%), recorded under Arkansas' average in the 2000s (-0.56% vs. 0.56%), posted below Arkansas' average in the 2010s (-0.54% vs. 0.76%), and posted below Arkansas' average over the 3 year period of the current decade, 2020-2022 (0.33% vs. 1.83%).
Finally, relative to nationwide total employment growth trends, Union County led the nation during the 1970s (2.37% vs. 2.21%), trailed the nation during the 1980s (0.03% vs. 1.88%), lagged the nation throughout the 1990s (0.55% vs. 1.73%), posted below the nation over the 2000s (-0.56% vs. 0.74%), lagged the nation over the 2010s (-0.54% vs. 1.51%), and recorded underneath the nation over 2020-2022 (0.33% vs. 1.82%).
   
 
Total Employment Growth:
Average Annual Percent Change
 
 
 
0.37
2.37
0.03
0.55
-0.56
-0.54
0.33
2.55
 
1.51
2.60
1.45
2.08
0.56
0.76
1.83
4.10
 
1.62
2.21
1.88
1.73
0.74
1.51
1.82
4.78
 
   
Job Ratios (Employment/Population): 1969-2022
Job Ratios (Employment/Population): 1969-2022
Figure 8.
The job ratios shown in Figure 8 for Union County, Arkansas and the nation not only portray a number of important trends, they also serves as a thumbnail guide to evaluating an economy's capacity to generate enough jobs fast enough to absorb the increasing number of workers attendant to a growing population. The job ratio is the number of full-time and part-time jobs by place of work, divided by population.
Nationally, the job ratio rose from 0.45 to 0.64 between 1969 and 2022. Union County's job ratio registered 0.43 in 1969, and 0.63 in 2022. Underlying the rising job ratio over the past several decades have been the increases in the labor force participation rates, with the number and proportion of women in the labor market playing a leading role.
An assortment of other factors can contribute to regional differences in the job ratio. They include differences in the proportion of elderly and retirees who no longer work and participate in the labor force, differences in the number and proportion of part-time vs. full-time workers, differences in industry composition, and differences in age and sex distribution and degree of urbanization. Also, a disproportionate number of workers commuting to work outside a county tends to lower its local county job ratio, while a net inflow of workers commuting to work inside the county tends to augment its local county job ratio.
Avoid interpreting the job ratio as the fraction (or percent) of the local population employed. This interpretation should only apply to the "employment-population ratio" statistic compiled by the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) from the Current Population Survey (CPS).
Job Ratios (Employment/Population)
as a Percent of the U.S. Average:
1969-2022
Job Ratios (Employment/Population)
as a Percent of the U.S. Average:
1969-2022
Figure 9.
To highlight trends in a local job ratio relative to nationwide trends, Figure 9 tracks Union County's, Arkansas' job ratio as a percent of the national job ratio over 1969-2022.

Interactive TableTip: To augment your analysis click on the column headers in the following table to rank and/or sort the data.

   
 
Union County:
Total Employment, 1969-2022
 
1969
 
19,978
100.0
N
2.50
0.43
96.15
1970
 
19,596
98.1
-1.91
2.43
0.43
96.78
1971
 
19,594
98.1
-0.01
2.36
0.44
98.60
1972
 
20,177
101.0
2.98
2.33
0.45
99.12
1973
 
20,850
104.4
3.34
2.31
0.46
98.15
1974
 
21,675
108.5
3.96
2.34
0.47
100.04
1975
 
20,779
104.0
-4.13
2.30
0.45
97.42
1976
 
21,830
109.3
5.06
2.32
0.46
98.99
1977
 
23,125
115.8
5.93
2.36
0.48
100.44
1978
 
24,040
120.3
3.96
2.35
0.49
99.03
1979
 
25,142
125.8
4.58
2.44
0.50
99.68
1980
 
24,628
123.3
-2.04
2.39
0.51
101.07
1981
 
25,460
127.4
3.38
2.48
0.53
104.87
1982
 
25,418
127.2
-0.16
2.51
0.52
106.25
1983
 
25,881
129.5
1.82
2.49
0.53
107.90
1984
 
26,366
132.0
1.87
2.44
0.54
106.24
1985
 
26,478
132.5
0.42
2.41
0.55
104.93
1986
 
25,512
127.7
-3.65
2.30
0.53
101.02
1987
 
24,906
124.7
-2.38
2.19
0.52
97.43
1988
 
24,891
124.6
-0.06
2.13
0.52
95.97
1989
 
25,162
125.9
1.09
2.12
0.54
97.60
1990
 
25,127
125.8
-0.14
2.09
0.54
96.92
1991
 
25,235
126.3
0.43
2.05
0.54
99.45
1992
 
25,558
127.9
1.28
2.04
0.55
101.44
1993
 
25,775
129.0
0.85
1.98
0.55
101.95
1994
 
25,925
129.8
0.58
1.95
0.56
101.74
1995
 
26,365
132.0
1.70
1.91
0.57
102.00
1996
 
26,076
130.5
-1.10
1.86
0.56
100.50
1997
 
26,381
132.1
1.17
1.85
0.58
101.45
1998
 
26,665
133.5
1.08
1.84
0.58
101.10
1999
 
26,571
133.0
-0.35
1.82
0.58
100.43
2000
 
27,237
136.3
2.51
1.84
0.60
102.07
2001
 
27,705
138.7
1.72
1.87
0.62
106.25
2002
 
28,938
144.8
4.45
1.96
0.65
112.61
2003
 
26,487
132.6
-8.47
1.79
0.60
104.59
2004
 
25,995
130.1
-1.86
1.73
0.59
103.05
2005
 
25,784
129.1
-0.81
1.68
0.60
102.50
2006
 
25,768
129.0
-0.06
1.64
0.60
101.87
2007
 
25,724
128.8
-0.17
1.63
0.61
102.11
2008
 
25,888
129.6
0.64
1.64
0.61
104.04
2009
 
24,961
124.9
-3.58
1.62
0.60
105.14
2010
 
23,982
120.0
-3.92
1.56
0.58
103.18
2011
 
23,940
119.8
-0.18
1.53
0.58
102.16
2012
 
24,617
123.2
2.83
1.57
0.60
105.36
2013
 
24,663
123.5
0.19
1.57
0.60
104.86
2014
 
24,892
124.6
0.93
1.57
0.62
105.46
2015
 
25,636
128.3
2.99
1.59
0.63
107.06
2016
 
25,141
125.8
-1.93
1.54
0.62
104.44
2017
 
24,449
122.4
-2.75
1.49
0.61
101.62
2018
 
24,028
120.3
-1.72
1.45
0.61
99.25
2019
 
23,588
118.1
-1.83
1.42
0.60
98.25
2020
 
22,966
115.0
-2.64
1.40
0.59
100.15
2021
 
23,214
116.2
1.08
1.38
0.61
99.09
2022
 
23,807
119.2
2.55
1.36
0.63
98.93
Source: Calculations by the Arkansas Regional Economic Analysis Project (AR-REAP)
with data provided by the U.S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of Economic Analysis
November 2023
REAP_PI_CA1400_1000_PSN
 
   

Interactive TableTip: To augment your analysis click on the column headers in the following table to rank and/or sort the data.

   
 
Arkansas:
Total Employment, 1969-2022
 
1969
 
799,917
100.0
N
0.88
0.42
92.44
1970
 
805,274
100.7
0.67
0.88
0.42
93.16
1971
 
830,624
103.8
3.15
0.91
0.42
95.12
1972
 
867,240
108.4
4.41
0.92
0.43
95.35
1973
 
901,673
112.7
3.97
0.92
0.44
94.06
1974
 
927,399
115.9
2.85
0.93
0.44
94.09
1975
 
904,885
113.1
-2.43
0.91
0.42
91.34
1976
 
941,116
117.7
4.00
0.93
0.43
92.93
1977
 
981,263
122.7
4.27
0.93
0.44
93.01
1978
 
1,021,156
127.7
4.07
0.93
0.46
92.27
1979
 
1,031,309
128.9
0.99
0.91
0.45
90.21
1980
 
1,032,439
129.1
0.11
0.91
0.45
89.93
1981
 
1,026,248
128.3
-0.60
0.89
0.45
89.36
1982
 
1,010,727
126.4
-1.51
0.89
0.44
89.40
1983
 
1,039,399
129.9
2.84
0.90
0.45
91.13
1984
 
1,079,236
134.9
3.83
0.90
0.47
91.03
1985
 
1,098,411
137.3
1.78
0.89
0.47
90.72
1986
 
1,110,294
138.8
1.08
0.88
0.48
90.57
1987
 
1,136,620
142.1
2.37
0.88
0.49
90.75
1988
 
1,169,911
146.3
2.93
0.88
0.50
91.42
1989
 
1,189,148
148.7
1.64
0.87
0.51
91.86
1990
 
1,203,622
150.5
1.22
0.87
0.51
92.17
1991
 
1,230,169
153.8
2.21
0.89
0.52
94.90
1992
 
1,255,030
156.9
2.02
0.91
0.52
96.44
1993
 
1,301,238
162.7
3.68
0.92
0.53
97.81
1994
 
1,329,036
166.1
2.14
0.92
0.53
97.24
1995
 
1,382,418
172.8
4.02
0.93
0.55
98.16
1996
 
1,405,330
175.7
1.66
0.93
0.55
97.44
1997
 
1,427,163
178.4
1.55
0.92
0.55
96.80
1998
 
1,445,536
180.7
1.29
0.91
0.55
95.80
1999
 
1,460,374
182.6
1.03
0.90
0.55
95.13
2000
 
1,482,449
185.3
1.51
0.90
0.55
94.43
2001
 
1,482,587
185.3
0.01
0.90
0.55
94.83
2002
 
1,478,920
184.9
-0.25
0.90
0.55
95.22
2003
 
1,482,026
185.3
0.21
0.89
0.54
95.10
2004
 
1,505,086
188.2
1.56
0.89
0.55
94.93
2005
 
1,537,671
192.2
2.16
0.89
0.55
94.81
2006
 
1,567,665
196.0
1.95
0.89
0.56
94.26
2007
 
1,582,826
197.9
0.97
0.88
0.56
93.22
2008
 
1,579,250
197.4
-0.23
0.88
0.55
93.22
2009
 
1,542,904
192.9
-2.30
0.89
0.53
94.10
2010
 
1,541,250
192.7
-0.11
0.89
0.53
94.39
2011
 
1,561,929
195.3
1.34
0.89
0.53
94.12
2012
 
1,565,109
195.7
0.20
0.87
0.53
93.22
2013
 
1,569,358
196.2
0.27
0.86
0.53
92.27
2014
 
1,587,408
198.4
1.15
0.85
0.54
91.90
2015
 
1,610,799
201.4
1.47
0.85
0.54
91.70
2016
 
1,629,734
203.7
1.18
0.84
0.55
91.69
2017
 
1,639,903
205.0
0.62
0.84
0.55
91.19
2018
 
1,658,212
207.3
1.12
0.83
0.55
90.75
2019
 
1,663,920
208.0
0.34
0.83
0.55
90.71
2020
 
1,639,829
205.0
-1.45
0.84
0.54
92.35
2021
 
1,686,444
210.8
2.84
0.83
0.56
91.20
2022
 
1,755,536
219.5
4.10
0.83
0.58
90.43
Source: Calculations by the Arkansas Regional Economic Analysis Project (AR-REAP)
with data provided by the U.S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of Economic Analysis
November 2023
REAP_PI_CA1400_1000_PSN
 
   

Interactive TableTip: To augment your analysis click on the column headers in the following table to rank and/or sort the data.

   
 
United States:
Total Employment, 1969-2022
 
1969
 
91,053,200
100.0
N
0.45
1970
 
91,277,600
100.2
0.25
0.45
1971
 
91,581,400
100.6
0.33
0.44
1972
 
94,312,200
103.6
2.98
0.45
1973
 
98,427,500
108.1
4.36
0.47
1974
 
100,111,800
109.9
1.71
0.47
1975
 
98,900,600
108.6
-1.21
0.46
1976
 
101,591,200
111.6
2.72
0.47
1977
 
105,042,200
115.4
3.40
0.48
1978
 
109,686,600
120.5
4.42
0.49
1979
 
113,147,100
124.3
3.15
0.50
1980
 
113,983,200
125.2
0.74
0.50
1981
 
114,914,000
126.2
0.82
0.50
1982
 
114,163,300
125.4
-0.65
0.49
1983
 
115,645,700
127.0
1.30
0.49
1984
 
120,528,100
132.4
4.22
0.51
1985
 
123,796,700
136.0
2.71
0.52
1986
 
126,232,300
138.6
1.97
0.53
1987
 
129,548,400
142.3
2.63
0.53
1988
 
133,563,900
146.7
3.10
0.55
1989
 
136,177,800
149.6
1.96
0.55
1990
 
138,330,900
151.9
1.58
0.55
1991
 
137,612,800
151.1
-0.52
0.54
1992
 
138,166,100
151.7
0.40
0.54
1993
 
140,774,400
154.6
1.89
0.54
1994
 
144,196,600
158.4
2.43
0.55
1995
 
147,915,800
162.4
2.58
0.56
1996
 
151,056,200
165.9
2.12
0.56
1997
 
154,541,200
169.7
2.31
0.57
1998
 
158,481,200
174.1
2.55
0.57
1999
 
161,531,300
177.4
1.92
0.58
2000
 
165,370,800
181.6
2.38
0.59
2001
 
165,522,200
181.8
0.09
0.58
2002
 
165,095,100
181.3
-0.26
0.57
2003
 
165,921,500
182.2
0.50
0.57
2004
 
168,839,700
185.4
1.76
0.58
2005
 
172,338,400
189.3
2.07
0.58
2006
 
175,868,600
193.1
2.05
0.59
2007
 
179,543,700
197.2
2.09
0.60
2008
 
179,213,900
196.8
-0.18
0.59
2009
 
173,636,700
190.7
-3.11
0.57
2010
 
172,901,700
189.9
-0.42
0.56
2011
 
176,091,700
193.4
1.84
0.56
2012
 
178,979,700
196.6
1.64
0.57
2013
 
182,328,100
200.2
1.87
0.58
2014
 
186,239,800
204.5
2.15
0.58
2015
 
190,325,800
209.0
2.19
0.59
2016
 
193,425,900
212.4
1.63
0.60
2017
 
196,394,100
215.7
1.53
0.60
2018
 
200,292,200
220.0
1.98
0.61
2019
 
201,635,200
221.4
0.67
0.61
2020
 
195,286,600
214.5
-3.15
0.59
2021
 
202,752,100
222.7
3.82
0.61
2022
 
212,442,000
233.3
4.78
0.64
Source: Calculations by the Arkansas Regional Economic Analysis Project (AR-REAP)
with data provided by the U.S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of Economic Analysis
November 2023
REAP_PI_CA1400_1000_PN
 
   
Copyright © 2023. Pacific Northwest Regional Economic Analysis Project (PNREAP). All Rights Reserved.

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