At fewer than 44%, Baxter County’s workforce participation rate is well below state and national averages, but Arkansas State Chamber of Commerce President and CEO Randy Zook told a Mountain Home audience on Monday that the trend signals opportunity for potential employers rather than a challenge.
“This is a big opportunity for a potential employer,” Zook said. “There’s a workforce here that could probably be accessed pretty readily.” Zook spoke during the Mountain Home Area Chamber of Commerce’s State of the City and County Breakfast, held at Arkansas State University-Mountain Home and sponsored by Farmers & Merchants Bank.
Zook’s analysis came after updates from Mayor Hillrey Adams and Baxter County Judge Kevin Litty. He presented data on the state’s economy sourced from the U.S. Department of Labor and Bureau of Economic Analysis, framing local trends in a statewide and national context.
Baxter County’s labor force participation rate, Zook said, stands at 43.8%. That is substantially below the national rate, which was updated last week to 61.9%, and below Arkansas’s statewide average of approximately 59%. Zook attributed part of the county’s lower rate to its status as an attractive destination for retirees, who are more likely to leave the workforce earlier than average.
“Now, peel that onion,” Zook said. “This is an attractive retirement community. You’ve got a lot of early retirees, earlier than some people.”
Zook also pointed to broader societal factors. He highlighted a national trend of prime-age men exiting the workforce, sharing federal data that shows about 11% of men aged 25 to 54 are not working. In comparison, only 2.5% of men in this age range were out of the workforce in the 1950s. He attributed this shift to factors including an increase in disability claims and what he described as the impact of marijuana use. However, federal data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics indicates that men outside the workforce include students, caregivers, and people with disabilities, with one in three prime-age men in this category reporting a disability, according to research cited by the Brookings Institution.
Zook suggested that even modest improvements in workforce participation could have significant local benefits. “Let’s say we could get a third of them off the couch, or whatever they’re doing,” he said. “That would mean we could add 15, 20,000 people to the workforce.”
Additionally, Zook addressed broader economic trends in Arkansas. He noted population growth in specific regions like Northwest Arkansas, Central Arkansas, and Northeast Arkansas, where Benton, Washington, Pulaski, and Craighead counties are leading in attracting new residents. Recent Census Bureau estimates showed the state’s population has grown by approximately 103,000 people since 2020.
In contrast, areas such as the Delta and south Arkansas timber regions have experienced population declines. Zook underscored the uneven distribution of growth, stating, “Our challenge is distribution of people.”
Economic development was also a key focus of Zook’s remarks. He pointed to several large-scale projects announced over the past year, including a $4 billion Google data center in West Memphis, a $2.2 billion munitions plant in Pine Bluff, and significant steel production investments in Mississippi County, now home to seven steel mills. According to Zook, these projects represent a combined $13 billion in investments and 4,300 jobs.
Zook emphasized the importance of policy in driving economic growth, pointing to state-led tax reforms and infrastructure investments as contributors to Arkansas’s improving economic outlook. Arkansas’s top individual income tax rate now stands at 3.7%, while the corporate rate has been reduced to 4.1% over the past few years. He also highlighted the state’s efforts to replenish its unemployment trust fund and reduce costs for employers.
Zook concluded by addressing the defeat of Issue 3 on the November 3 ballot, a proposed constitutional amendment that would have allowed cities and counties to establish local economic development districts. Despite support in 70 of Arkansas’s 75 counties, the measure failed by a narrow margin, largely due to opposition in the state’s most populous areas. Zook said plans are underway to reintroduce the measure with additional legislative guardrails in the next general election.
“Policy matters,” Zook remarked. “Economic development doesn’t just happen. It’s a result of deliberate action and good policy coming together.”