Business Employment Dynamics in Arkansas — Second Quarter 2025

From March 2025 to June 2025, gross job losses from closing and contracting private-sector establishments in Arkansas were 61,370, while gross job gains from opening and expanding private-sector establishments were 55,899, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Acting Regional Commissioner Jerome Watters noted that the difference between the number of gross job gains and the number of gross job losses yielded a net employment loss of 5,471 jobs in the private sector during the second quarter of 2025. (See table 1.) During the previous quarter, gross job gains exceeded gross job losses by 69. (See chart 1.)

Line chart of private sector gross job gains and gross job losses in Arkansas, June 2020-2025. An accessible version is available in View Chart Data link below the chart.

View Chart Data

Chart 1. Private-sector gross job gains and losses in Arkansas, June 2020–June 2025, seasonally adjusted
Period	Gross job losses	Gross job gains
Jun 2020	118,342	47,711
Sep 2020	54,618	73,362
Dec 2020	51,925	70,082
Mar 2021	51,474	62,899
Jun 2021	56,857	57,731
Sep 2021	66,985	68,450
Dec 2021	49,105	79,299
Mar 2022	58,466	65,883
Jun 2022	57,485	63,698
Sep 2022	55,189	68,097
Dec 2022	56,129	65,929
Mar 2023	54,575	62,660
Jun 2023	64,495	64,131
Sep 2023	61,870	61,346
Dec 2023	54,678	67,204
Mar 2024	56,312	61,455
Jun 2024	62,995	58,085
Sep 2024	56,349	59,478
Dec 2024	52,715	64,055
Mar 2025	56,305	56,374
Jun 2025	61,370	55,899

The change in the number of jobs over time is the net result of increases and decreases in employment that occur at all private businesses in the economy. Business Employment Dynamics (BED) statistics track these changes in employment at private-sector establishments from the third month of one quarter to the third month of the next. The difference between the number of gross job gains and the number of gross job losses is the net change in employment. (See the Business Employment Dynamics Technical Note.)

Gross job losses

In the second quarter of 2025, gross job losses represented 5.5 percent of private-sector employment in Arkansas; nationally, gross job losses accounted for 6.0 percent of private-sector employment. (See chart 2.) Gross job losses are the result of contractions in employment at existing establishments and the loss of jobs at closing establishments. In Arkansas, contracting establishments lost 50,135 jobs in the second quarter of 2025, an increase of 4,038 jobs from the prior quarter. Closing establishments lost 11,235 jobs, an increase of 1,027 jobs from the previous quarter.

View Chart Data

Chart 2. Private-sector gross job losses as a percent of employment, United States and Arkansas, June 2020–June 2025, seasonally adjusted
Period	United States	Arkansas
Jun 2020	16.8	12.0
Sep 2020	5.9	5.6
Dec 2020	5.7	5.2
Mar 2021	5.5	5.2
Jun 2021	5.9	5.7
Sep 2021	6.0	6.7
Dec 2021	5.4	4.8
Mar 2022	5.5	5.6
Jun 2022	6.2	5.4
Sep 2022	5.9	5.2
Dec 2022	5.9	5.2
Mar 2023	5.5	5.1
Jun 2023	5.9	6.0
Sep 2023	5.9	5.8
Dec 2023	5.7	5.0
Mar 2024	5.5	5.2
Jun 2024	5.9	5.7
Sep 2024	5.8	5.2
Dec 2024	5.7	4.8
Mar 2025	5.4	5.1
Jun 2025	6.0	5.5

Gross job gains

In the second quarter of 2025, gross job gains represented 5.1 percent of private-sector employment in Arkansas; nationally, gross job gains accounted for 5.7 percent of private-sector employment. (See chart 3.) Gross job gains are the sum of increases in employment due to expansions at existing establishments and the addition of new jobs at opening establishments. In Arkansas, gross job gains at expanding establishments totaled 43,859 in the second quarter of 2025, a decrease of 1,731 jobs compared to the previous quarter. Opening establishments accounted for 12,040 jobs gained in the second quarter of 2025, an increase of 1,256 jobs from the previous quarter.

View Chart Data

Chart 3. Private-sector gross job gains as a percent of employment, United States and Arkansas, June 2020–June 2025, seasonally adjusted
Period	United States	Arkansas
Jun 2020	4.8	4.8
Sep 2020	9.4	7.5
Dec 2020	7.4	7.1
Mar 2021	7.0	6.3
Jun 2021	6.8	5.8
Sep 2021	7.3	6.8
Dec 2021	7.7	7.8
Mar 2022	6.7	6.3
Jun 2022	6.5	6.1
Sep 2022	6.9	6.5
Dec 2022	6.3	6.1
Mar 2023	6.3	5.8
Jun 2023	6.2	6.0
Sep 2023	5.9	5.6
Dec 2023	6.0	6.2
Mar 2024	5.9	5.6
Jun 2024	5.8	5.3
Sep 2024	5.8	5.5
Dec 2024	5.9	5.8
Mar 2025	5.6	5.1
Jun 2025	5.7	5.1

Industries

Gross job losses exceeded gross job gains in 7 of the 10 published industry sectors in Arkansas in the second quarter of 2025. Retail trade had the largest over-the-quarter net job decrease, with a loss of 1,491 jobs. This was the result of 7,921 gross job losses and 6,430 gross job gains. The manufacturing industry had a net loss of 1,319 jobs. Professional and business services showed a net gain of 470 jobs, the largest gain of any sector in the state. Arkansas’ leisure and hospitality industry sector had a net gain of 368 jobs.

For more information

The BED data series include gross job gains and gross job losses by industry subsector, for the 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands, as well as gross job gains and gross job losses at the firm level by employer size class. BED data for the states have been included in table 2 of this release. Additional information is available online at the Business Employment Dynamics homepage and the Business Employment Dynamics Summary.

The Business Employment Dynamics for Third Quarter 2025 are scheduled to be released on Wednesday, April 29, 2026, at 9:00 a.m. (CT).

Technical Note

The Business Employment Dynamics (BED) data are a product of a federal-state cooperative program known as Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages (QCEW). The BED data are compiled by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) from existing QCEW records.

More information on formal definitions of the data used in this release, along with coverage, concepts, and methodology, can be found in the Business Employment Dynamics Technical Note.

If you are deaf, hard of hearing, or have a speech disability, please dial 7-1-1 to access telecommunications relay services.

Table 1. Private-sector gross job gains and losses by industry, Arkansas, seasonally adjusted
Category	Gross job gains and losses (3 months ended)					Gross job gains and losses as a percent of employment (3 months ended)
Category	June 2024	Sept. 2024	Dec. 2024	Mar. 2025	June 2025	June 2024	Sept. 2024	Dec. 2024	Mar. 2025	June 2025
Total private (1)
Gross job gains	58,085	59,478	64,055	56,374	55,899	5.3	5.5	5.8	5.1	5.1
At expanding establishments	46,436	47,680	52,112	45,590	43,859	4.2	4.4	4.7	4.1	4.0
At opening establishments	11,649	11,798	11,943	10,784	12,040	1.1	1.1	1.1	1.0	1.1
Gross job losses	62,995	56,349	52,715	56,305	61,370	5.7	5.2	4.8	5.1	5.5
At contracting establishments	51,581	45,608	42,575	46,097	50,135	4.7	4.2	3.9	4.2	4.5
At closing establishments	11,414	10,741	10,140	10,208	11,235	1.0	1.0	0.9	0.9	1.0
Net employment change (2)	-4,910	3,129	11,340	69	-5,471	-0.4	0.3	1.0	0.0	-0.4
Construction
Gross job gains	5,174	4,994	5,845	4,956	4,681	7.6	7.6	8.7	7.3	7.0
At expanding establishments	3,999	3,896	4,571	3,845	3,724	5.9	5.9	6.8	5.7	5.6
At opening establishments	1,175	1,098	1,274	1,111	957	1.7	1.7	1.9	1.6	1.4
Gross job losses	5,452	5,397	4,943	5,361	5,667	8.1	8.1	7.3	7.9	8.5
At contracting establishments	4,227	4,481	4,115	4,211	4,626	6.3	6.7	6.1	6.2	6.9
At closing establishments	1,225	916	828	1,150	1,041	1.8	1.4	1.2	1.7	1.6
Net employment change (2)	-278	-403	902	-405	-986	-0.5	-0.5	1.4	-0.6	-1.5
Manufacturing
Gross job gains	4,196	4,393	3,554	4,037	3,441	2.6	2.7	2.2	2.5	2.2
At expanding establishments	3,907	4,257	3,401	3,827	3,286	2.4	2.6	2.1	2.4	2.1
At opening establishments	289	136	153	210	155	0.2	0.1	0.1	0.1	0.1
Gross job losses	4,705	4,127	4,308	4,447	4,760	2.9	2.6	2.6	2.7	2.9
At contracting establishments	4,329	3,719	4,126	4,067	4,554	2.7	2.3	2.5	2.5	2.8
At closing establishments	376	408	182	380	206	0.2	0.3	0.1	0.2	0.1
Net employment change (2)	-509	266	-754	-410	-1,319	-0.3	0.1	-0.4	-0.2	-0.7
Wholesale trade
Gross job gains	2,808	2,766	2,702	3,004	2,953	5.3	5.2	5.0	5.6	5.5
At expanding establishments	2,124	2,151	2,154	2,208	2,310	4.0	4.0	4.0	4.1	4.3
At opening establishments	684	615	548	796	643	1.3	1.2	1.0	1.5	1.2
Gross job losses	2,904	2,544	2,257	2,644	3,254	5.5	4.8	4.2	4.9	6.1
At contracting establishments	2,340	1,911	1,883	2,115	2,416	4.4	3.6	3.5	3.9	4.5
At closing establishments	564	633	374	529	838	1.1	1.2	0.7	1.0	1.6
Net employment change (2)	-96	222	445	360	-301	-0.2	0.4	0.8	0.7	-0.6
Retail trade
Gross job gains	6,838	7,711	6,777	7,137	6,430	4.7	5.4	4.8	5.0	4.5
At expanding establishments	5,956	6,004	5,834	6,138	5,326	4.1	4.2	4.1	4.3	3.7
At opening establishments	882	1,707	943	999	1,104	0.6	1.2	0.7	0.7	0.8
Gross job losses	8,144	7,068	7,604	6,164	7,921	5.7	4.9	5.3	4.4	5.5
At contracting establishments	6,616	6,111	6,411	5,230	6,668	4.6	4.2	4.5	3.7	4.6
At closing establishments	1,528	957	1,193	934	1,253	1.1	0.7	0.8	0.7	0.9
Net employment change (2)	-1,306	643	-827	973	-1,491	-1.0	0.5	-0.5	0.6	-1.0
Transportation and warehousing
Gross job gains	3,275	2,964	3,597	2,515	2,341	5.3	4.8	5.8	4.0	3.8
At expanding establishments	2,881	2,217	3,367	2,179	1,981	4.7	3.6	5.4	3.5	3.2
At opening establishments	394	747	230	336	360	0.6	1.2	0.4	0.5	0.6
Gross job losses	3,097	3,070	1,956	3,473	2,684	5.0	5.0	3.2	5.5	4.3
At contracting establishments	2,520	2,523	1,593	3,007	2,379	4.1	4.1	2.6	4.8	3.8
At closing establishments	577	547	363	466	305	0.9	0.9	0.6	0.7	0.5
Net employment change (2)	178	-106	1,641	-958	-343	0.3	-0.2	2.6	-1.5	-0.5
Financial activities
Gross job gains	2,573	2,910	2,825	3,031	2,937	4.6	5.2	5.0	5.4	5.2
At expanding establishments	2,021	2,129	2,016	2,149	2,179	3.6	3.8	3.6	3.8	3.9
At opening establishments	552	781	809	882	758	1.0	1.4	1.4	1.6	1.3
Gross job losses	3,001	2,407	2,782	2,748	3,178	5.4	4.4	4.9	4.9	5.7
At contracting establishments	2,225	1,760	2,042	1,925	2,113	4.0	3.2	3.6	3.4	3.8
At closing establishments	776	647	740	823	1,065	1.4	1.2	1.3	1.5	1.9
Net employment change (2)	-428	503	43	283	-241	-0.8	0.8	0.1	0.5	-0.5
Professional and business services
Gross job gains	11,771	11,406	11,794	10,655	11,118	7.4	7.1	7.3	6.5	6.7
At expanding establishments	8,944	8,824	9,110	8,541	8,261	5.6	5.5	5.6	5.2	5.0
At opening establishments	2,827	2,582	2,684	2,114	2,857	1.8	1.6	1.7	1.3	1.7
Gross job losses	12,204	10,840	9,733	9,113	10,648	7.6	6.7	6.0	5.6	6.4
At contracting establishments	10,061	8,231	7,522	6,694	8,506	6.3	5.1	4.6	4.1	5.1
At closing establishments	2,143	2,609	2,211	2,419	2,142	1.3	1.6	1.4	1.5	1.3
Net employment change (2)	-433	566	2,061	1,542	470	-0.2	0.4	1.3	0.9	0.3
Education and health services
Gross job gains	8,517	8,921	9,133	7,826	7,887	4.3	4.5	4.6	3.8	3.9
At expanding establishments	6,868	7,805	7,818	6,383	6,485	3.5	3.9	3.9	3.1	3.2
At opening establishments	1,649	1,116	1,315	1,443	1,402	0.8	0.6	0.7	0.7	0.7
Gross job losses	8,333	7,312	7,310	6,873	7,886	4.2	3.6	3.7	3.4	3.9
At contracting establishments	6,801	5,854	5,573	5,684	6,728	3.4	2.9	2.8	2.8	3.3
At closing establishments	1,532	1,458	1,737	1,189	1,158	0.8	0.7	0.9	0.6	0.6
Net employment change (2)	184	1,609	1,823	953	1	0.1	0.9	0.9	0.4	0.0
Leisure and hospitality
Gross job gains	9,133	9,200	12,755	8,287	10,145	7.1	7.2	9.8	6.3	7.8
At expanding establishments	6,820	7,176	9,902	6,474	7,582	5.3	5.6	7.6	4.9	5.8
At opening establishments	2,313	2,024	2,853	1,813	2,563	1.8	1.6	2.2	1.4	2.0
Gross job losses	10,024	9,097	7,721	11,300	9,777	7.8	7.1	5.8	8.5	7.5
At contracting establishments	8,464	7,515	6,358	9,831	7,697	6.6	5.9	4.8	7.4	5.9
At closing establishments	1,560	1,582	1,363	1,469	2,080	1.2	1.2	1.0	1.1	1.6
Net employment change (2)	-891	103	5,034	-3,013	368	-0.7	0.1	4.0	-2.2	0.3
Other services (3)
Gross job gains	2,177	2,093	2,295	2,446	1,972	7.8	7.6	8.2	8.5	7.0
At expanding establishments	1,600	1,550	1,625	1,779	1,323	5.7	5.6	5.8	6.2	4.7
At opening establishments	577	543	670	667	649	2.1	2.0	2.4	2.3	2.3
Gross job losses	2,305	2,139	1,916	1,862	2,542	8.3	7.7	6.8	6.5	8.9
At contracting establishments	1,787	1,621	1,402	1,400	1,850	6.4	5.8	5.0	4.9	6.5
At closing establishments	518	518	514	462	692	1.9	1.9	1.8	1.6	2.4
Net employment change (2)	-128	-46	379	584	-570	-0.5	-0.1	1.4	2.0	-1.9
(1) Includes unclassified sector not shown separately. (2) The net employment change is the difference between total gross job gains and total gross job losses. (3) Except public administration.

Table 2. Private-sector gross job gains and losses as a percent of total employment by state, seasonally adjusted
Category	Gross job gains as a percent of employment (3 months ended)					Gross job losses as a percent of employment (3 months ended)
Category	June 2024	Sept. 2024	Dec. 2024	Mar. 2025	June 2025	June 2024	Sept. 2024	Dec. 2024	Mar. 2025	June 2025
United States(1)	5.8	5.8	5.9	5.6	5.7	5.9	5.8	5.7	5.4	6.0
Alabama	5.6	5.8	5.8	5.3	5.5	5.6	5.9	5.3	5.6	5.6
Alaska	10.2	8.0	10.3	10.0	9.9	9.6	9.6	9.5	8.1	10.3
Arizona	5.6	6.4	6.1	5.8	5.3	6.5	5.7	5.9	5.3	6.3
Arkansas	5.3	5.5	5.8	5.1	5.1	5.7	5.2	4.8	5.1	5.5
California	6.2	6.3	6.7	6.0	6.6	6.9	6.2	6.4	6.2	6.7
Colorado	6.6	6.3	6.2	6.2	6.4	5.8	6.4	6.5	6.8	7.1
Connecticut	5.8	5.5	5.5	5.6	5.8	5.5	5.6	5.5	5.3	5.8
Delaware	5.8	6.8	6.1	5.9	5.9	6.5	6.4	6.3	5.3	6.1
District of Columbia	5.1	4.9	5.0	4.8	5.7	5.4	5.0	5.5	5.8	5.9
Florida	6.1	6.5	6.0	5.8	5.7	5.8	5.7	6.2	5.5	5.8
Georgia	5.9	5.8	6.0	5.5	5.5	5.7	6.1	5.4	5.7	5.6
Hawaii	5.2	5.7	5.3	4.9	4.8	5.6	5.0	5.0	5.0	5.2
Idaho	7.5	7.1	8.2	7.3	7.7	7.2	7.5	6.8	7.3	7.2
Illinois	5.1	4.9	5.1	5.0	5.2	5.1	5.0	5.1	5.0	5.2
Indiana	5.2	5.3	5.5	5.4	5.0	5.5	5.3	5.1	5.2	5.6
Iowa	5.6	5.3	5.6	5.8	5.6	5.8	6.0	5.6	5.5	5.8
Kansas	5.9	5.3	5.9	5.5	5.4	5.6	5.6	5.2	5.4	6.3
Kentucky	5.3	5.4	5.3	5.2	5.0	5.8	5.4	5.5	4.8	5.4
Louisiana	5.8	6.1	6.2	5.6	5.5	6.2	5.8	5.5	5.6	6.3
Maine	7.2	6.2	7.0	7.4	7.2	7.1	7.1	7.1	6.3	7.4
Maryland	7.1	5.9	6.0	5.9	5.7	5.9	6.1	5.9	5.7	6.2
Massachusetts	5.7	5.0	5.3	5.0	5.5	5.6	5.8	5.5	5.1	5.8
Michigan	5.7	5.3	5.4	5.2	5.8	5.4	5.8	5.9	5.3	5.5
Minnesota	5.7	5.1	5.5	5.1	5.8	5.2	5.8	5.1	5.5	5.5
Mississippi	5.7	6.3	6.3	5.7	6.3	6.3	5.7	6.2	6.1	6.5
Missouri	5.6	5.6	5.7	5.4	5.5	5.8	5.8	5.3	5.2	6.1
Montana	7.9	7.2	8.4	8.0	7.7	7.6	8.0	7.8	7.5	8.3
Nebraska	5.5	5.6	5.6	5.2	5.4	5.6	5.6	5.5	5.3	5.5
Nevada	5.8	6.2	6.1	5.4	6.2	5.8	5.9	5.6	5.9	6.3
New Hampshire	6.1	5.6	6.3	6.5	6.3	6.0	6.7	5.9	6.1	6.7
New Jersey	5.9	5.4	6.0	5.6	5.8	5.5	5.8	5.5	5.4	5.5
New Mexico	6.1	6.3	6.1	5.9	5.9	6.5	6.2	5.9	5.8	6.0
New York	5.8	5.7	5.7	6.6	5.9	5.5	5.8	5.5	5.0	7.0
North Carolina	5.6	5.5	6.1	5.4	5.6	5.5	5.8	5.5	5.5	5.4
North Dakota	6.6	6.5	6.5	6.7	6.4	6.6	6.5	6.6	6.5	6.7
Ohio	5.2	5.2	5.4	5.2	5.3	5.3	5.4	5.1	4.9	5.4
Oklahoma	5.7	6.1	6.0	5.5	5.5	6.4	5.5	5.5	5.3	6.2
Oregon	6.0	6.3	6.2	5.8	6.4	6.3	6.6	6.6	6.2	6.5
Pennsylvania	4.9	5.1	5.2	5.0	4.9	5.2	5.0	4.8	4.7	5.2
Rhode Island	6.6	6.2	7.3	6.6	6.3	6.7	6.4	6.3	5.9	6.7
South Carolina	6.1	6.2	6.4	6.1	5.8	6.0	5.9	5.9	5.5	6.6
South Dakota	6.0	5.9	6.7	6.2	6.0	6.2	5.9	5.9	6.5	6.1
Tennessee	5.5	5.6	5.5	5.4	5.1	5.6	5.7	6.2	5.1	5.9
Texas	5.4	5.7	5.8	5.1	5.2	5.3	5.3	5.2	5.1	5.4
Utah	6.5	6.8	6.8	6.6	6.6	6.9	6.2	6.3	6.0	6.6
Vermont	6.7	6.6	6.7	6.9	6.9	7.4	7.1	6.7	6.8	7.5
Virginia	5.6	5.8	5.8	5.6	5.8	5.7	5.7	5.5	5.1	5.8
Washington	5.9	5.8	5.8	5.7	6.0	5.6	5.8	5.7	5.5	5.4
West Virginia	7.0	5.9	6.5	6.4	5.5	6.7	6.6	6.1	5.7	6.3
Wisconsin	5.3	5.1	5.3	5.0	5.3	5.6	5.5	5.2	4.9	5.5
Wyoming	8.2	8.9	8.9	8.1	8.3	8.8	8.5	8.3	8.7	8.9
Puerto Rico	5.5	5.4	4.3	6.3	7.0	4.9	5.0	5.4	5.4	6.1
Virgin Islands	4.9	4.7	5.2	5.4	15.0	5.7	7.5	10.8	7.6	9.5
(1) Totals for the United States do not include data for Puerto Rico or the Virgin Islands. The sum of the states will not necessarily add to the U.S. total because of the independent seasonal adjustment of each state.

Last Modified Date: Monday, March 09, 2026

Southwest Information Office

Business Employment Dynamics in Arkansas — Second Quarter 2025