Citizen Portal
Sign In

Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!

Commerce report: Arkansas unemployment at 3.7%; department highlights adjudication backlog progress and employer protections

PUBLIC HEALTH, WELFARE AND LABOR COMMITTEE - SENATE · December 6, 2021
AI-Generated Content: All content on this page was generated by AI to highlight key points from the meeting. For complete details and context, we recommend watching the full video. so we can fix them.

Summary

Jim Hudson of the Department of Commerce told the Senate committee that Arkansas’ unemployment rate is about 3.7%, initial claims have returned to near-normal levels after pandemic peaks, adjudication backlogs have dropped after clearing roughly 102,000 claims, and the state invoked Act 153 authority to waive pandemic charges that would otherwise affect employer rates.

Jim Hudson, speaking for the Department of Commerce and the Division of Workforce Services, told the Senate Public Health, Welfare and Labor Committee that Arkansas’ labor market has largely recovered from the pandemic’s employment shock but faces a labor-supply shortage.

“We’re doing quite well right now. 3.7 unemployment rate, that's the sixteenth in the nation in terms of strength of the labor economy,” Hudson said, and described sectoral…

Already have an account? Log in

Subscribe to keep reading

Unlock the rest of this article — and every article on Citizen Portal.

  • Unlimited articles
  • AI-powered breakdowns of topics, speakers, decisions, and budgets
  • Instant alerts when your location has a new meeting
  • Follow topics and more locations
  • 1,000 AI Insights / month, plus AI Chat
30-day money-back on paid plans