In business ratings, Fort Smith, NLR gain

Fort Smith and North Little Rock experienced significant increases on the Arkansas Tech Business Index in October, the university’s College of Business said.

Fort Smith increased by 3.75 points to 104.2; and North Little Rock gained 1.92 to 98.28.

The index lists 18 cities in Arkansas based on labor, housing market, construction and retail indexes. A rating above 100 means a city is doing better than the state average.

Bentonville topped the list with a ranking of 106.36, but its rating fell by 2.46 points. Little Rock’s ranking declined 0.9 points to 95.35.