The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics recently released a report showing the number of county residents employed and what the average weekly wage is for all 75 Arkansas counties.
Area counties are considered small because they have an employment level of fewer than 75,000 people, according to a news release prepared by the Bureau of Labor Statistics for the fourth quarter.
The following includes Southwest Arkansas counties with the number of people employed and the average weekly wage during the fourth quarter of 2015:
- Columbia County-8,360 employed average wage $814
- Hempstead County-7,853 employed average wage $679
- Howard County-7,004 employed average wage $615
- Lafayette County-1,199 employed average wage $702
- Little River County-3,521 employed average wage $978
- Miller County-13,363 employed average wage $781
- Nevada County-2,424 employed average wage $686
- Pike County-2,425 employed average wage $582
- Sevier County-4,839 average wage $610
All 72 of Arkansas' smaller counties reported weekly wages below the national average of $1,082 a week during the fourth quarter of 2015.
Among the smaller counties, the highest weekly wages were in Calhoun County at $1,028 and Little River County at $978, while the lowest weekly wage was Newton County with the average weekly wage of $492.
When all 75 counties in Arkansas were considered, 12 reported average weekly wages under $600 while 30 reported ages from $600 to $699, and 23 had wages from $700 to $799 and 10 averaged $800 or more per week.
Higher-paying counties were located around the metropolitan areas of Blytheville, Fort Smith, Fayetteville and Little Rock, and along the southern border of the state. Lower-paying counties were generally concentrated in the northern portion of the state.