ARKANSAS
JOBS DECLINE,
FOOD
STAMPS INCREASE
Summary: A healthy state economy
creates new jobs at rates greater than or equal to the U.S. average. Public assistance is seen as short-term aid,
not a multi-year entitlement. Two
metrics (employment growth, food stamp usage1)
illustrate problems with the Arkansas economy since January 2007.
(October 2014) Arkansas
payroll employment has declined, and the number of households and persons
receiving food stamps has increased since 2007, according to U.S. Bureau of
Labor Statistics and U.S. Census Bureau data.
Arkansas
Payroll Employment
Arkansas
total nonfarm payroll employment was 1,201,200 in January 2007, BLS data2 show. Arkansas total
employment was 1,194,000 in September
2014, a 0.6% decline. U.S.
employment increased 1.3% in the same period.3
Arkansas
Food Stamp Usage
Individuals
and households turn to public assistance when jobs are not plentiful. One public assistance program is the
Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP),4 which dispensed
$731,845,896 in Arkansas in FY 2013. Persons receiving food stamps in Arkansas
increased from 379,768 (FY2007) to 504,621 (FY2013).5 Household participation grew from 158,087
(FY2007) to 224,454 (FY2013).6 Both trailed national growth
rates.7
--Greg
Kaza
1 National media
including the McClatchy News Service and The
N.Y. Times have reported on the growth in food stamp usage.
2 State and Metro Area Employment, Hours & Earnings, Current
Employment Statistics. To access visit www.bls.gov, and click
"State and Local Employment" using the Subjects menu on the home
page. Scroll down and click SAE Databases.
Click Top Picks and select Arkansas.
Choose "Arkansas, Total Nonfarm, Seasonally Adjusted." Click
"graph" and set the pull-down tab (2007)
3 Total U.S. payroll
employment: 137,448,000 (January 2007) and 139,187,000 (August 2014).
4 The
U.S. Department of Agriculture describes SNAP as "the largest program in
the domestic hunger safety net."
Average monthly benefits are $121 per person and $272 per household.
Eligibility requirements are posted at:
http://www.fns.usda.gov/snap/eligibility
5
USDA, State SNAP Activity Reports, Arkansas Persons: (FY2007) 379,768; (FY2008) 377,883; (FY2009)
411,153; (FY2010) 466,598; (FY2011) 486,451; (FY2012) 502,125; and (FY2013)
504,621.
6
USDA, State SNAP Activity Reports, Arkansas Households: (FY2007)158,087;
(FY2008) 157,871; (FY2009) 172,602; (FY2010) 197,624; (FY2011) 210,670;
(FY2012) 220,095; and (FY2013) 224,454.
7 Persons: Arkansas (32.9%) versus U.S. (80%); Households: Arkansas (42%) versus U.S. (96%).