Arkansas has an abundance of resources to help food processing companies succeed. The Arkansas Economic Development Commission works directly with food processing companies looking to start-up, expand or relocate. In addition, we assist companies with finding the best incentives so companies are able to make money quickly and efficiently.
There were 522 food and beverage companies in Arkansas at the end of 2022. These companies employed 55,130 people. Arkansas is home to Tyson Foods and numerous other food processing facilities, including Nestle, JBS USA, Kraft Heinz, Mars Inc., Cargill Inc., Hormel Foods Corp, Riceland Foods, Pilgrim’s Pride, ConAgra Brands Inc., Land O’ Frost and Frito-Lay, Inc.
Arkansas has the 5th largest percentage of food processing workers in the United States. The growth rate of the food and beverage industry from 2017 to 2022 was 6 percent in Arkansas.
The food processing industry is booming in Arkansas and continues to grow exponentially. Eight of the top 10 food and beverage companies by revenue in the world have manufacturing facilities in the state.
Arkansas is meeting the workforce needs for food processing companies. The state now has the second-largest number of food processing workers in the US and Arkansas has responded to industry growth by modernizing the workforce.
According to the latest data from the U.S. Department of Labor, Arkansas experienced the second-largest percentage gain in year-over-year nonfarm employment. This increase lead to the addition of nearly 33,000 jobs to an economy with a near-record number of workers coming into the state’s labor force. Oregon was the only state to surpass Arkansas in the percentage of year-over-year percentage increases in nonfarm employment. The news reaffirms that Arkansas has an ever-growing job market with more companies bringing jobs to the state.
A recent report from the U.S. Department of Labor’s Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) shows that Arkansas added 32,700 nonfarm positions to the state’s growing economy in the past year. The nonfarm business sector is a subset of the domestic economy and excludes activities of the following: general government, private households, nonprofit organizations serving individuals and farms.
With continued job growth and an all-time low unemployment rate of 3.4 percent, which is 0.9 percent lower than the national average, Arkansas is ranked among some of the best-performing states in terms of job creation. Not only that, but new workers are continuing to join the Arkansas labor force. Between June and July, a total of 9,100 workers were added to the state’s payrolls.
Arkansas’s labor participation rate has experienced a 5% increase since January 2015 to July 2017 from 54.4% to 57.1%. The number of unemployed during this period has decreased from 73,499 to 46,497, resulting in a 39.3% decrease in the unemployment rate from 5.6% to 3.4%.
Under the leadership of Governor Asa Hutchinson, the Arkansas civilian labor force has grown by 53,073, from 1,321,543 to 1,374,616, with a mix of 1,328,119 employed workers and 46,497 jobseekers. The number of employed workers in Arkansas hit an all-time high in May at 1,309,035.
