Legislators eye 2018 budget with state unemployment rate at historic low

Legislators eye 2018 budget with state unemployment rate at historic low

From State Representative Deborah Ferguson In just three months, the legislature will be reviewing state expenditures and income to prepare for next year’s budget.

Budget hearings begin in January. This allows us enough time to hear request from state agencies before we head into the Fiscal Session.

This week, we received word that revenue for this fiscal year is still growing and exceeding what had previously been forecasted.

Net available general revenue so far this fiscal year (which began July 1) is $1.379 billion. That is $46.9 million or 3.5 percent above where we were this time last year. This is also $2.2 million more than what was expected.

Revenue for the month of September was $518.8 million. This is $3.3 million above collections in September 2016. However it is $7.1 million below the revenue forecast for this month.

Although September levels were below what was expected, the overall numbers for the year reflect a growing economy. Unemployment in our state continues to stay at record low levels.

The increases in consumer categories reflect spending activity in August. Corporate and individual income tax collections were close to expected levels.

However, income tax refunds exceeded the forecast.

Taxes on tobacco were less than this time last year, but revenue from gaming is exceeding the forecast.

We began this next fiscal year with the record unemployment in the state. We have the highest number of employed Arkansans since 2008.

Our unemployment rate now stands at 3.5 percent. The national unemployment rate is 4.4 percent.

Arkansas’ civilian labor force added 3,272, a result of 2,038 additional employed and 1,234 more unemployed Arkansans.

We now have the lowest unemployment rate in the South and the 14th lowest in the country.

When more Arkansans are working, our economy strengthens.

We also have a legislative task force meeting monthly to look at future tax reform in the state. Their findings and recommendations will be considered in 2019.

We receive a monthly report on revenue from the Department of Finance and Administration. We will continue to monitor these reports as we approach the next session.

You can review the reports at www.dfa.arkansas.gov.