LITTLE ROCK Arkansas' unemployment rate last month was 7 percent, a significantly lower figure than the national rate of 9.4 percent and a statistic that on its face suggests the effects of the recession have been less severe in Arkansas than in much of the country.

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) Arkansas' natural gas reserves helped keep the state economy afloat in 2008 while huge job losses and budget deficits were recorded elsewhere in the country and the federal government shelled out billions of dollars to prop up banks and car manufacturers.

The natural gas industry has been welcome in Faulkner County since its arrival a few years ago brought promise of wealth to the area and individuals, but now some fear a slowdown in production.

LITTLE ROCK The first round of bids for work on Arkansas highway projects funded by the federal stimulus package came in 12 percent under estimates Wednesday, as contractors cut profit margins to keep busy during the economic recession.

LITTLE ROCK (AP) University researchers have embarked on a second economic study of natural gas drilling in north-central Arkansas that should help state officials as they consider whether to raise the severance tax on the industry.

LITTLE ROCK (AP) University researchers have embarked on a second economic study of natural gas drilling in north-central Arkansas that should help state officials as they consider whether to raise the severance tax on the industry.

LITTLE ROCK (AP) Home building permits in Arkansas fell 25 percent last year and the drop in northwest Arkansas was even greater nearly 50 percent because of overbuilding in the region that has been one of the country's fastest growing.

The University of Arkansas' Sam Walton College of Business Center for Business and Economic Research released an updated projection of the Fayetteville Shale play's economic impact on the state. The study uses the current natural ...

With little more than a week having passed since the governor unveiled his proposal to increase the state's severance tax, a few undecided lawmakers, acting in good faith, are still sorting through the arguments both for and against. During that time, some of the plan's more overzealous supporters have begun to rely on arguments ...

LITTLE ROCK Arkansas' unemployment rate jumped by half a percentage point in October, an increase unseen in more than a quarter century as the national economic slowdown finally reached the state.