Average weekly wages during the first quarter of 2025 in Crawford and Sebastian counties, the two largest in the region, declined compared with the same quarter in 2024. Job numbers were down almost 10% in Crawford County.
The average weekly wage in Sebastian County in the first quarter was $1,083, down 1.9% compared with the same period in 2024, according to the latest data available from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). The Crawford County average was $932, down 2.5% compared with the same period in 2024.
Following are the first quarter 2025 average weekly wages in other counties in the Fort Smith region.
Franklin: $939, up 8.7%
LeFlore (Okla.): $772, up 4.9%
Logan: $830, up 3.7%
Sequoyah (Okla.): $695, up 5.9%
Benton County, Ark., had the largest[1] average weekly wage gain among the nation’s 372 largest counties, with the average of $2,296 up 14.6% compared with the same period in 2024. Arkansas’ average was $1,236, up 5.6%, and the nationwide average was $1,589, up 4.1%.
Four of the six counties in the region posted job gains in the first quarter of 2025 compared with the same quarter in 2024. Following are the estimated job numbers at the end of the first quarter for each county, and percentage change, according to the BLS.
• Arkansas
Crawford: 15,488, down 9.1%
Franklin: 4,005, up 3.5%
Logan: 3,633, down 4.3%
Sebastian: 60,482, up 1.4%
• Oklahoma
LeFlore: 7,757, up 2.4%
Sequoyah: 6,589, up 1.3%
Overall, the Fort Smith metro economy grew in the first quarter compared with the same quarter of 2024, according to The Compass Report analysis[2] from Kendall Ross, University of Arkansas at Fort Smith associate vice chancellor of Economic and Workforce Development.
“The Fort Smith metro exhibited steady economic strength in Q1 2025, with significant growth in nonfarm employment and construction activity,” Ross noted in his report. “The region added approximately 1,900 jobs from March 2024 to March 2025, reaching 103,800 total jobs. This employment growth was driven primarily by gains in manufacturing and construction sectors, with manufacturing employment alone increasing modestly from 17,800 to 18,000 jobs.”
Related
References
- ^ had the largest (talkbusiness.net)
- ^ The Compass Report analysis (talkbusiness.net)