“In order for Arkansas to move from a low-wage to a high-wage economy, the state needs to decrease marginal tax rates …in order to attract (high-income) workers to Arkansas.” (“Taxes And Savings in Arkansas.” Murphy Commission, 1998)
(April 2008) Arkansas employment growth trailed the U.S. in 2007, the fourth consecutive year that job creation in the Natural State failed to equal or exceed the national average, federal economic data show.
Nonfarm payroll employment in Arkansas grew from 1,201,400 (December 2006) to 1,206,400 (December 2007), an increase of 0.42 percent. National employment expanded from 136,982,000 to 138,078,000 in the same period, an increase of 0.80 percent, according to U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data.
Arkansas employment growth also trailed the U.S. in years 2004, 2005 and 2006:
| Year | Arkansas | United States |
| 2003 | 0.55% | 0.07% |
| 2004 | 1.32% | 1.60% |
| 2005 | 1.86% | 1.91% |
| 2006 | 1.04% | 1.56% |
| 2007 | 0.42% | 0.80% |
The last year Arkansas exceeded the U.S. average in employment growth was 2003.
