Incorporating three Arkansas counties and two from neighboring Oklahoma, Fort Smith is the state’s midsized metro. The city of Fort Smith, which anchors the region, sits at the junction of the Arkansas and Poteau Rivers and is proud of its Wild West heritage. Modern times, however, remain a challenge.
While there have been signs of economic recovery in other parts of Arkansas, Fort Smith has continued to struggle. Since peaking in 2008,the region has lost jobs in each of the past four years. In the most recent 12-month period, it lost 5,600 jobs or 4.8 percent of its employment base. In percentage terms, that’s a bigger drop than during the depths of the Great Recession.
The announcement in late April that the area's Whirlpool plant will be closing its doors at the end of June means the loss of close to 1,000 additional jobs. That's done little to boost morale.
Also, home sales are down 10.4 percent from last year. Residential construction has plunged – down nearly 40 percent so far this year compared with the same period a year ago.
But not everything is bleak. Retail and auto sales are up. So is passenger traffic at the local airport.
