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ARKANSAS (KNWA/KFTA) — The additional $600 weekly unemployment benefit ends on July 31. Approval for this money was signed into law through the federal CARES Act.

The lifeline was to help Americans during COVID-19. For many it meant earning more than they would have at their job.

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For the week ending July 11, more than 13,500 people in Arkansas filed for unemployment for the first time, an increase of 3,500 from the previous week ending July 4, according to the Department of Labor.

As of June 2020, Arkansas’ labor force was 1.2 million and 105,338 were unemployed, according to the Arkansas Department of Workforce Services.

ARKANSAS COUNTIES W/ HIGH UNEMPLOYMENT RATES (MAY)

  • MISSISSIPPI: 14.8%. 2,641 unemployed of 17,805.
  • GARLAND: 13.6%. 5,655 unemployed of 41,695.
  • ASHLEY: 12.3%. 911 unemployed of 7,388.
  • LOGAN: 12.2%. 1,031 unemployed of 8,443.
  • UNION: 11.9%. 1,873 unemployed of 15,685.
  • ST. FRANCIS: 11.9%. 971 unemployed of 8,166.
  • PULASKI: 11.4%. 21,722 unemployed of 190,468.
  • SEBASTIAN: 10.5%. 5,966 unemployed of 56,978.
  • JOHNSON: 10.5%. 1,072 unemployed of 10,167.
  • FRANKLIN: 10.5%. 793 unemployed of 7,533.
  • JEFFERSON: 10.4%. 2,888 unemployed of 27,851.
  • CARROLL: 9.4%. 1,194 unemployed of 12,731.
  • CRAWFORD: 9%. 2,376 unemployed of 26,547.
  • BENTON: 7%. 9,422 unemployed of 135,418.
  • WASHINGTON COUNTY: 7.4%. 9,222 unemployed of 124,183.

Nationally the labor force was nearly 160,000,000 and 17.7 million were unemployed.

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