By Rebekah Hall
U of A System Division of Agriculture
LITTLE ROCK — The Cooperative Extension Service has released a new data tool providing access to workforce indicators across the state.
The Labor Market Observatory provides data from each of the state’s eight economic development districts. The new tool is a product of extension’s Community, Professional and Economic Development department. In the fall of 2023, the department received funding from the U.S. Economic Development Administration’s University Center Program to create the Center for Rural Resilience and Workforce Development. The center worked in partnership with Heartland Forward to develop the LMO.
“The Labor Market Observatory is a visual representation of workforce and demographic metrics for the state of Arkansas,” said Brandon L. Mathews, extension program associate for economic development for the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture.
ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT — A new data tool, created in partnership by the Cooperative Extension Service and Heartland Forward, provides access to workforce indicators from each of Arkansas' eight economic development districts, which are funded by the U.S. Economic Development Administration. (Division of Agriculture graphic.)
Mathews said the tool is designed to help development professionals, community organizations and individuals access workforce indicators from state and federal sources. These indicators include demographic information — such as the share of Hispanic, Marshallese, and rural and urban populations — as well as housing, income and employment statistics at the county, development district and state level.
Arkansas is divided into eight economic development districts that are funded in part by the U.S. Economic Development Administration. These districts offer a range of services for their communities, including grant writing, planning, and community and economic development.
“Economic development districts were the primary audience in developing the LMO tool,” Mathews said. “However, economic developers, city and county officials, chambers of commerce and the general public will be able to access the LMO. The goal of this tool is to provide workforce information to help communities make informed decisions based on key data, while also making the information easier to understand.”
Mathews said that when a development professional from one of the districts wants to calculate housing costs and income for a region and compare it to the whole state, for example, the LMO tool will retrieve the relevant data and calculate totals, rather than the individual having to compile data from several sources.
“All of that work is done for them through the LMO, automatically saving them time and resources,” he said.
Mathews said the LMO is intended to help the state’s economic and workforce practitioners make smart choices that “support workforce and human capital projects that are good for Arkansans.”
Help for Arkansans
Each economic development district is required to develop a data-driven plan that is specific to the needs and opportunities of their community. Mathews said the LMO can help these regions measure success in reaching their strategic goals.
“As LMO data and features are added over time,” Mathews said, “the hope is that the Cooperative Extension Service will become a trusted and reliable source for workforce data.”
Hunter Goodman, assistant professor and extension director of the Center for Rural Resilience and Workforce Development, said the LMO is key to the center’s mission.
“The data dashboards are an important component of our mission to equip Arkansans with sustainable, accessible, research-based practices and expertise to create vibrant, self-reliant communities where businesses, organizations and families thrive,” Goodman said.
The LMO was developed in partnership with Heartland Forward, a Bentonville-based organization dedicated to advancing economic success in the middle of the country, with three core impact areas: regional competitiveness, talent pipeline and health and wellness. Heartland Forward led the creation of the visualization dashboard.
“We’re excited to roll out the dashboards and honored to serve as a trusted resource for this project,” said Rodrigo Ramirez-Perez, a research analyst at Heartland Forward. “By making data more accessible and approachable for development professionals, community organizations and individuals alike, we believe they can strengthen their communities through strategies informed by data-driven insights.”
Mathews said more workforce data will be added to the LMO in the coming months, with plans to provide data at the city or zip code level where available. The University Center plans to host a series of trainings on how to use the LMO, which will soon be added to the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture calendar. Event postings will also be shared on the Division of Agriculture’s Community and Economic Development Facebook page.
To learn about extension programs in Arkansas, contact your local Cooperative Extension Service agent or visit www.uaex.uada.edu. Follow us on X and Instagram at @AR_Extension. To learn more about Division of Agriculture research, visit the Arkansas Agricultural Experiment Station website: https://aaes.uada.edu. Follow on X at @ArkAgResearch. To learn more about the Division of Agriculture, visit https://uada.edu/. Follow us on X at @AgInArk.