County's Jobless Rate at 3.2 Percent

RISON - While data shows Cleveland County experiencing one of its lowest unemployment rates in the past 10 years, that same data shows the number of workers in the county to be on the decline as well.According to figures provided by the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, the unemployment rate for Cleveland County was 3.2 percent in October. That matches the April rate, which was the lowest rate for the county this year and the lowest rate since the county hit 3.0 percent in October 2023.It was also the fourth consecutive month where the county's jobless rate has declined. The county's unemployment rate peaked this year in July at 4.4 percent before falling to 4.0 per-cent in August and 3.3 percent in September.The October unemployment rate in Cleveland County compares favorably with the jobless rates in adjoining counties. Only two neighboring counties, Calhoun (2.9 percent) and Grant (2.2 percent), had low unemployment rates.Meanwhile, Jefferson County (4.4 percent), Lincoln County (4.3 percent), Drew Dounty (3.9 percent) and Dallas County (3.3 percent) were all higher than Clevleand County.Overall, Cleveland County has seen its unemployment rate generally decline over the past 10 years.After sitting at 5.7 percent in October 2014, the unemployment rate went up to 7.2 percent in January 2015 and then rose to as high as 11 percent in April 2020 during the COVID pandemic. However, the rate has steadily declined since then, bottoming out at 2.6 percent in April 2023.While those numbers are promising, those percentages are based off fewer workers living in the county. Based on data from the Federal Reserve, there has been a steady decline in the estimated number of workers in Cleveland County since March 2006.After hitting a high of 4,294 estimated workers in April 2005, that number has fallen significantly since then. It hit a 10-year low when it fell to 2,960 estimnated workers in December 2023, reflecting a ...