Tourism Strong in Hot Springs; Arkansas Economy Continues to Recover

Although Arkansas' economic recovery has lagged the rest of country since the recession, growth here has increased over the last couple of years. That was among the findings shared by economist Michael Pakko at the Hot Springs regional economic forecast on Wednesday. The conference, one of two hosted by Arkansas Business this year, took place at the Hot Springs Convention Center. Pakko, the chief economist and state economic forecaster at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock's Institute for Economic Advancement, said that from 2014-15, the Arkansas economy grew at an average rate of 3.3 percent. From 2010-2013, the average growth was only 1.5 percent. More: See Pakko's full presentation here. In the six and a half years since the recession, the U.S. economy has grown by 14.5 percent, he said. According to Pakko, Hot Springs’ economic trends line up with that of the state. "As Hot Spring goes, so goes the state," Pakko said. "What we’ve seen in Arkansas for the last two years is growth that looks halfway decent." Pakko's presentation looked at five counties in southwest Arkansas: Clark, Garland, Hot Spring, Montgomery and Pike. In those areas, the industries with the biggest workforces are retail, leisure and hospitality and health care. "We represent a very important service to those five counties," National Park Medical Center CEO Jerry Mabry said as part of a panel of Hot Springs health care leaders. According to CHI St. Vincent Hot Springs President Tony H...
Source: Arkansas Business - Health Care - Category: American Health Source Type: news