Metroplan on Monday released its 2016 Economic Review and Outlook, noting economic trends for the Little Rock-North Little Rock-Conway Metropolitan Statistical Area.
The report says the growth of the central Arkansas economy was slow but steady in late 2016, and growth in the local businesses and professional services sectors outpaced the national average.
From July 2015-July 2016, overall economic growth matched the national average of 1.7 percent. Unemployment fell to historic lows, although job growth was modest. The rate for central Arkansas was 3 percent in April and 3.4 percent in August. The metro area ranked 32nd lowest among 388 metros, landing in the top 8 percent for low unemployment.
The report also focuses on the future, which looks bright for the tech sector. It says the sector may be poised for dramatic growth, with the Little Rock Technology Park set to open early this year. The report says startups supported by the Venture Center in Little Rock have raised $19 million in seed capital since 2013.
It also notes cybersecurity as one of the fastest-growing businesses in the U.S. and in the world. Central Arkansas has the highest share of cybersecurity jobs of any metro area in the country. And, in total information security analyst jobs, it ranks ninth, according to Bureau of Labor Statistics data.
More: Get the full Metroplan report.
Metroplan is a voluntary association of central Arkansas governments that develops transportation plans, deals with common environmental issues and provides information and staff resources to member local governments, the business community and the public.
The report says single-family housing growth was slow, but multi-family housing is expected to be stronger with construction for several projects likely to begin soon.
Construction values were down in 2015, with only Saline County bucking the trend, as several large projects brought its total construction value to $117.2 million. The city ranked third in that area, behind Little Rock ($403.7 million) and North Little Rock ($150.2 million).
And, while central Arkansas has lost manufacturing companies in the past 20 years, those that have stayed are thriving, the report says. It called plans for Chinese garment-maker Tianyuan to open a plant in Little Rock encouraging.
Central Arkansas' manufacturing GDP grew 13.4 percent from 2010-15, beating the national average of 4.6 percent, although growth in manufacturing jobs was flat at 0.5 percent.
But the future is cloudy for the health care and hospital sectors because U.S. policy is expected to change and the specifics aren't known yet. Local retailing is also facing an uphill battle against rising internet sales, which are projected to average more than 10 percent of all sales by 2020. They account for about 8 percent now.