Press & Data
Monthly figures on hiring and advertised pay in Northwest Arkansas, computed from job postings on employers' own career sites. Charts, data and figures are free to use with attribution to NWA Job Search.
Latest Report
The first report built entirely on our cleaned-up data, October 2026, becomes final when the month ends. Until then, the preliminary October 2026 figures update daily.
Earlier reports remain on the reports page with data notes explaining what changed; we don't recommend citing them.
How the Numbers Are Made
Where does the data come from?
We collect job postings every day from the career sites of Northwest Arkansas employers: Walmart, Tyson Foods, J.B. Hunt, the hospitals, the cities and counties, school districts, the University of Arkansas and dozens more. It is advertised openings, not a survey. Listings re-posted by job boards such as Indeed or ZipRecruiter are excluded, and the same job posted twice is counted once.
How is pay calculated?
Each posting counts at the midpoint of its advertised range. Hourly and salaried roles are always reported separately, because one combined figure is dominated by whichever group is larger. Only postings that list pay are included, which is about half of them. Where one employer posts most of a group's postings, we name it and give the median without it.
What counts as a new posting?
An opening we first saw during the month, counted once. Postings the employer had listed more than 14 days before we found them, such as the existing openings of an employer we just added, are not counted as new.
Can I compare one month with the previous month?
Only when the report says so. When we add or repair employer sources or clean up the data, the number of postings moves for reasons that have nothing to do with hiring. Those months carry a data note and the report hides month-over-month changes.
What doesn't the data tell you?
Advertised pay is what an employer offers a new hire today, not what current employees earn, and it excludes bonuses and benefits. Postings are not the same as hires, and some employers post one listing for several openings. Coverage is limited to employers whose career sites we collect.
Can I use the charts and data?
Yes. The charts, figures and CSV downloads are free to use with attribution to NWA Job Search. Each chart carries its own date and source line; please keep it.
Corrections
- October 14, 2026Salary pages split hourly and salaried pay, as the monthly report does. Nine nursing postings that listed only a $20,000 sign-on bonus no longer count as $20,000 salaries.
- October 13, 2026New postings were undercounted in the July–October reports: each day's count covered about 30 minutes. They have been recounted from the first time we saw each posting (for example, September: 1,295, previously shown as 83).
- October 13, 2026The reports showed one “median advertised salary” that combined hourly pay (annualized) with salaried pay. Most salaried postings are Walmart corporate roles, so it overstated typical pay. Reports now show hourly and salaried medians separately; the combined figure for July–September has been withdrawn.
Questions or custom data
Need a breakdown the report doesn't show, such as one employer, one town or one kind of job? Contact us. All past reports are listed on the reports page.