With the national economy in question lately, job seekers may wonder where they should take their professional skills. Many regional economies are suffering from corporate bankruptcy, job loss, and population decline.
But not in Little Rock.
The recent revitalization of the downtown area has attracted major corporations in transportation, services, and manufacturing. In the last five years, Little Rock has created one of the nation's top 15 most aggressive development markets, and that market is expected to double in size over the next 20 years.
In its Summer 2008 issue, Southern Business & Development magazine placed Little Rock first on its list of Hot Markets in a Cold Economy for the city's recent corporate job growth.
And with a relatively low cost of living--about 91% of the national average--Little Rock is a very affordable place to live.
Industrial Growth
The top three industries in the Little Rock Metro area are:
Biotechnology. UAMS is the center of biotechnology research in Arkansas. The medical school also supports local start-up biotechnology companies that help to invigorate the local economy.
Aviation. In the state of Arkansas, the aviation and aerospace industry is spread across 100 companies and 10,000 employees. Concentrated in Little Rock and Hot Springs, this industry accounted for $1 billion in exports in 2006.
Agriculture. On the whole, Arkansas is primarily a farming state. Rice, soybeans, timber and poultry are the state's biggest agricultural exports and Little Rock claims a prime trade location on the Arkansas River.
The top three employers in Little Rock are Baptist Health Medical Center, the Arkansas Cancer Research Center, and UAMS (including affiliates). Other major employers include Acxiom, Arkansas Blue Cross and Blue Shield, Raytheon Aircraft Company, and Entergy.
In addition, the area's hospitals, clinics, and banks attract other corporations that offer technical supporting services. And like any other metro area, teachers, therapists, accountants and nurses are all in high demand.
Job Listing Sites
In addition to popular worldwide job service sites such as CareerBuilder and Monster, several locally-run websites offer job searches for the Little Rock area.
Arkansas Online offers a detailed search and relevant results with no registration required unless the user wants to save job listings or upload a resume. Arkansas Online is a service of Little Rock's largest newspaper, the Arkansas Democrat Gazette.
Other options include Arkansas Jobs, Little Rock Careers, and Jobs in Little Rock.
