Arkansas

UA economist provides positive outlook for Northwest Arkansas – Talk Business & Politics

Published

1 year ago

October 25, 2023

UA economist provides positive outlook for Northwest Arkansas – Talk Business & Politics

A University of Arkansas economist painted a rosy picture of the Northwest Arkansas economy amid expectations of strong U.S. GDP growth, ranging between 3% and 4% in the third quarter. The Bureau of Economic Analysis will post third-quarter GDP data on Thursday (Oct. 26).

Economist Mervin Jebaraj presented the GDP projection and other economic data during a business analysis luncheon on Wednesday (Oct. 25) in Fayetteville.

Jebaraj said he expects about 4% growth but wouldn’t be shocked to see 5% growth in the third quarter. Before the COVID-19 pandemic, the long-term average GDP growth rate was about 2.1%. The second-quarter GDP growth rate was 2.1%.

“We’re not in a recession because…consumers are going out and spending money (and) the unemployment rates are low across the board,” he said. “You ask, ‘How low is it?’ Well, to be fair, I think even the unemployment benefits office has a help wanted sign on it today.”

The Center for Business and Economic Research (CBER) in the Sam M. Walton College of Business at the UA, in collaboration with the Northwest Arkansas Council, released the annual State of the Northwest Arkansas Region Report on Wednesday at the Fayetteville Town Center. Jebaraj, who’s director of the Center for Business and Economic Research, also provided economic data from CBER’s Quarterly Business Analysis.

Asked what letter grade he’d give the Northwest Arkansas economy, Jebaraj said “solid B+” when compared to peer regions. Asked when the next recession might be, Jebaraj said if he were to guess, the soonest one could happen would be in the second half of 2024. “We don’t have to have a recession,” he added.

Donna Morris, executive vice president and chief people officer for Walmart Inc., was guest speaker at the luncheon. She responded to questions from Nelson Peacock, president and CEO of the Northwest Arkansas Council.

Morris, who is on the council’s executive committee, said the region’s “amazing growth” in jobs stood out to her in the State of the Northwest Arkansas Region Report. The annual report compares Northwest Arkansas to six peer regions or regions that are typically much larger than Northwest Arkansas and some of the fastest growing in the United States.

Northwest Arkansas ranked second with 11.2% in nonfarm employment growth from 2020 and 2022, the report shows. Only the Austin, Texas, metro had higher growth at 16.7% over the period.

Jebaraj said almost everyone who can work is working in Northwest Arkansas, and employers are still struggling to hire. But he noted this has eased some from 2022. Since the start of the pandemic, Northwest Arkansas has added 35,000 jobs. Over the same period, Arkansas added about 70,000.

More than 575,000 people live in Northwest Arkansas, he said. The region is adding about 13,000 people annually. According to the report, Northwest Arkansas’ 4.9% population growth from 2020 to 2022 ranks third compared to the peer regions, behind the Austin metro (5.3%) and Provo-Orem, Utah, metro (5.9%).

However, Morris was concerned about the rising airfares noted in the report and encouraged airport officials in the room to attract more affordable airlines. The report compares economic data in 2022 to previous years. According to the report, airfares have risen by 33.5% to $499 in 2022 from $374 in 2020.

Asked why airfares rose, Aaron Burkes, CEO of Northwest Arkansas National Airport (XNA), said airfares have declined over the past year. He added that the airfares will be higher when compared to other airports because a large percentage of XNA’s passengers are business travelers. Business travelers often book flights shortly before departure when airfares are higher, driving up the average price.

Burkes said XNA officials meet regularly with low-cost carriers asking them to either start service here or expand flights to new destinations. He noted most low-cost carriers are focused on leisure, not business destinations. As a result, carriers offering business destination routes likely won’t face new competition, which could drive down airfares.

Morris also discussed the importance of home affordability, public transportation and Walmart’s new Home Office that’s under construction.

“It will start next year opening with the Walton Whole Health Fitness Center,” she said. “This is something like you’ve never seen before, and it will be available to our associates and their family members.”

She also said “downtown section” of the new Home Office will be open to the public, comprising food, activities and stores. There will also be a Walmart Welcome Center and a daycare, opening in mid-2024.

Another topic that both Peacock and Jebaraj noted in their presentations was commute time. Peacock said it’s a metric he’s interested in tracking as the region grows and wants to see how this affects the region’s quality of life.

Jebaraj said the metric coordinates with a region’s office vacancy rate. Higher commute times correlate with higher office vacancy rates.

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Arkansas

Mizzou, Arkansas Official Availability Report Ahead of Week 14 Game

Published

54 mins ago

November 27, 2024

Press Room

Mizzou, Arkansas Official Availability Report Ahead of Week 14 Game

The No. 21 Missouri Tigers enter their final regular season game with the least injury questions than they have had for most other games since the beginning of November.

But, there was a few new additions to the team’s availability report ahead of the Week 14 game against Arkansas. Below is the full availability report for the Tigers and the Arkansas Razorbacks.

This post will be updated throughout the week with new availability reports posted Thursday, Friday and 90 minutes before the 3:15 p.m. kick off.

Missouri Initial Availability Report:

Note: Missouri players with injuries previously reported to be season-ending are not listed on this post.

• DB Shamar McNeil – OUT
• LS Brett Le Blanc – OUT
• OL Logan Reichert – OUT
• RB Kewan Lacy – QUESTIONABLE

True freshman running back Kewan Lacy took one carry against Mississippi State in Week 13 before exiting the game with injury. Head coach Eli Drinkwitz said in the week leading up to that game that he would expect Lacy to see more opportunities going forward.

Le Blanc handles punting long snapping duties for Missouri, while Trey Flint takes care of field goals and extra points. Expect Flint to slide in for Le Blanc Saturday.

Arkansas Initial Availability Report:

• DL Nico Dalliver – OUT
• DB Jaylon Braxton – OUT
• K Kyle Ramsey – OUT
• DL Anton Juncaj – DOUBTFUL
• RB Braylen Russel – QUESTIONABLE
• DB Anthony Switzer – QUESTIONABLE

Passion and Patience Fuel a Fairytale Ending to Drake Heismeyer’s Mizzou Career
Brady Cook Reflects on Legacy Ahead of Senior Day
Mizzou Receiver Undergoes Season-Ending Surgery

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Arkansas

Arkansas Children's enhances care with Press Ganey partnership

Published

9 hours ago

November 27, 2024

Press Room

Arkansas Children's enhances care with Press Ganey partnership

The partnership will improve Arkansas Children’s service and care for patients and their families. Credit: Vita Monart/Shutterstock.

Arkansas Children’s, a private, non-profit paediatric care organisation, has partnered with Press Ganey to improve paediatric patient experience.

Beginning 1 January 2025, this collaboration is aimed at bolstering the paediatric care organisation’s commitment to improving service and care for patients and their families.

Arkansas Children’s executive vice-president and chief operating officer Jamie Wiggins said: “We believe that every interaction with our patients is an opportunity to make a meaningful impact.

“By leveraging Press Ganey’s expertise and industry-leading pediatric benchmarks, we will gain valuable insights that will empower our teams to continuously improve and innovate in delivering compassionate care.”

Press Ganey will offer its patient experience and provider star-rating solutions to help Arkansas Children’s monitor feedback and enhance care quality.

The partnership will enable Arkansas Children’s to leverage Press Ganey’s AI-powered text analytics.

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This will help analyse open-ended feedback from online reviews and post-visit surveys, providing an understanding of patient and family perspectives.

The goal is to gain actionable insights that can further improve the patient experience.

Press Ganey provides experience measurement, data analytics and insights to health systems and caters to more than 65% of all freestanding paediatric hospitals.

This partnership will allow Arkansas Children’s to benefit from shared learning and innovation within Press Ganey’s network of institutions.

Press Ganey CEO and chairman Patrick Ryan said: “Families trust Arkansas Children’s to provide the highest quality care for their children.

“This partnership reflects their dedication to listening to families, responding to their needs, and innovating to create a world-class paediatric healthcare experience.”

Arkansas Children’s network includes two paediatric hospitals, a nursery alliance, statewide clinics, a research institute, a USDA nutrition centre, and numerous education and outreach programmes.

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Arkansas

Homicide suspect causes barricade situation in east Arkansas jail

Published

16 hours ago

November 27, 2024

Press Room

Homicide suspect causes barricade situation in east Arkansas jail

PHILLIPS COUNTY, Ark. — A suspect in a Helena-West Helena homicide caused a barricade situation Tuesday as he was being processed in the Phillips County Detention Center.

Authorities said a prisoner who was being processed at the jail was able to get hold of some type of instrument and cause harm to himself.

He barricaded himself in the processing area and pepper spray was used to subdue him.

The prisoner was taken to the local emergency room for treatment. No one else was injured.

Helena-West Helena Police Chief Vincent Bell said he doesn’t know much more about what happened at the jail, but said the inmate is connected to a fatal shooting Tuesday afternoon.

The suspect was being held in connection to an incident where a man was shot dead in the doorway of O’Reilly Auto Parts in West Helena.

The shooting was the result of a disagreement that started in front of a motel, and the victim ran to the front of O’Reilly’s where he was fatally shot.

Chief Bell offered no details on a motive or the name of the victim.

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