The Fort Smith regional economy continues to have its bright spots, according to the report released May 1 by the Center for Business Research and Economic Development (CBRED) at the University of Arkansas - Fort Smith.

 

While the Monthly Economic Indicators Index report for March revealed another mixed performance by the area economy, there were signs of continued improvement in the latest report, according to Dr. Kermit Kuehn of Fort Smith, CBRED director. The overall Economic Activity Index for January of 95.5 was unchanged from a year ago.

 

Retail sales turned in a positive number in February after four months in a row of year-over-year declines. Retail sales for the five-county Fort Smith Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA) were up 3.4 percent from a year ago.

 

New and used auto sales came in lower, however, coming in nearly two percent below last March’s reading. Kuehn noted that new car sales were nearly 11 percent higher than the previous five-year average, while used car sales were down 2.4 percent. He stated that since used car sales make up over 80 percent of the units sold, overall dollar sales declined for the period.

 

"The solid uptick in the retail sales number for February was encouraging," Kuehn said, “but does not erase the declines seen in recent months. The impact on local government budgets is still a concern as we head into summer.”

 

According to the report, total non-farm employment for the Fort Smith MSA of 117,500 people employed reflected 700 more jobs in the MSA than what was reported in March a year ago. The non-seasonally adjusted unemployment rate for the Fort Smith MSA for March was 7.8 percent, two-tenths of a percent lower than a year ago.

 

"The jobs picture continues to improve, but it’s painful to watch," Kuehn said. He observed that manufacturing had shown some strength in the latter half of 2012, but appears to have weakened in the first quarter of this year.

 

He went on to note that national data released in recent days suggests that the broader jobs picture could weaken further over the next few months.

 

The latest numbers suggest that residential construction activity took a breather in March after year-over-year improvements in recent months. The report revealed that the 23 residential construction permits pulled for the month was the same number pulled a year ago.

 

March home sales for the MSA were down 3.6 percent from a year ago and are down nearly 5 percent for the first three months of 2013. The average price of homes sold in March was again higher than a year ago at $128,836 per unit. This was more than $15,000 over the average selling price per unit for the same month in 2012.

 

Airport traffic continued its year-over-year decline, suggesting that regional businesses and consumers continue to face budgetary constraints. Passenger traffic is down more than 8 percent from a year ago at this time.

 

The report is sponsored by Arvest Bank. For more information on the center, go to business.uafs.edu/outreach/economic-development, call 479-788-7938 or email CBRED@uafs.edu.