PLANNERS APPROVE PB SCHOOL DISTRICT ‘LANDMARK’ SIGN
By Amy Riggin/OF THE COMMERCIAL STAFF
The Pine Bluff Planning Commission on Tuesday gave the thumbs up for a “landmark sign” to be placed at the new Frank Anthony Administrative Center at 512 S. Pine St.
Speaking on behalf of the request, Superintendent Frank Anthony, whose retirement was effective Tuesday, said this district’s mission is “to help you and this city rebuild the image of downtown.”
Anthony told commissioners that the district had renovated the basement and first and second floors of the old Arkansas Power & Light building and wanted to place a sign there that would become a landmark for both residents and visitors.
About 50 employees now work at the building. Most of the district’s administrative personnel moved from the facility at 1215 W. Pullen St. to the new center in April.
Anthony said, in addition to renovations inside the building, the district has replaced street lights and worked on landscaping.
“But we haven’t done our best work yet,” he said.
In addition to being a landmark, Anthony said the sign will have a message center that can notify the community of school events, but can also be used by the city in case of emergencies, such as when a Morgan Nick Amber Alert is issued for a missing child.
“It could be a very forceful communication tool for not only the school district but also the city of Pine Bluff,” Anthony said.
The district held an open house at the new administrative center Tuesday.
Also Tuesday, planners:
OF THE COMMERCIAL STAFF
The Pine Bluff area saw a 0.7 percent increase in unemployment from April to May, representing an increase for the first time so far this year, according to data made available Tuesday from the state Department of Workforce Services.
The metropolitan statistical area’s unemployment rate for May was 8.6 percent — lower than the national rate of 9.4 percent but higher than the state’s 7 percent rate. While MSA rates are not seasonally adjusted, the national rate was adjusted from 9.1 percent and the state’s from 6.9 percent.
Local highs
The local area has had a higher rate than the rest of the state all year. But for the last two months it has been lower than the national rate. Only one other month this year, February, showed a higher national rate of 8.9 percent. The Pine Bluff area’s rate in February was 8.8 percent. However, when the national rate was seasonally adjusted the rate fell below Pine Bluff’s again to 8.1 percent.
Kimberly Friedman, DWS communications director, said the rates for metropolitan areas are not seasonally adjusted to account for certain factors or conditions, like when schools close down for the summer. If the rate is seasonally adjusted, those things are factored out because it could cause the rate to sharply rise or become exceptionally low.
Pine Bluff
The Pine Bluff MSA remains higher than others in the state. The following is a breakdown of rates by MSA:
Of the Pine Bluff area’s 44,500 in the workforce, 3,800 were unemployed in May.
The city of Pine Bluff alone had a higher unemployment rate of 10.1 percent, and Jefferson County also had a slightly higher rate of 8.7 percent.
John Shelnutt, administrator for economic analysis and tax research at the state Department of Finance and Administration, said earlier this week that he thinks there is a technical problem with the indicator for Arkansas.
“That problem is causing (the reported unemployment rate) to be low compared to the nation and most of the region.”
Shelnutt said he does not have enough information to pinpoint the problem, but he said something does not add up. He said Arkansas’ insured unemployment rate, or the rate at which unemployment insurance claims are filed, logically should have been lower in May than the national rate, but instead it was higher.
U.S. Department of Labor statistics show Arkansas’ insured unemployment rate was 5.4 percent for the week ending May 30, while the national rate for the same week was 4.5 percent.
Could Arkansas’ jobless rate in fact be no better than the national rate, or worse?
“That’s my guess, but it’s purely speculation without more information,” Shelnutt said.
There are two Arkansas Workforce Center locations in Pine Bluff, one at 3135 W. 28th Ave. in Regency Square and another at 2003 N. University, Suite 2. The centers provide assistance in the form of training and/or job placement to those seeking employment.
For more information, call one of the centers at 575-9797 (Regency Square) or 534-7700 (North University).
Job services also are available to the general public at the Pine Bluff DWS office. For more information, call 534-1920.
More statistics on unemployment in Arkansas are available at www.discoverarkansas.net.
— John Lyon of the Arkansas News Bureau contributed to this report.