City’s sales tax collections are up 8% in November
November collections of the city of Hot Springs’ 1% general fund sales tax rose 8.38% from the previous November, according to a report the city recently released.
The $1,577,738 the city reported receiving from the state for November collections remitted in January put the almost $3.2 million collected during the first two months of the final quarter more than 6% ahead of last year’s fourth quarter pace. The city reported a 6.5% year-over-year gain in third quarter collections.
The $17,701,969 collected during the first 11 months of the year exceeded the same period of 2022 by 6.43%, or more than $1 million, putting collections on pace to exceed $19 million and beat the 2023 revenue forecast by more than $1 million.
The almost $37 million 2024 general fund budget the Hot Springs Board of Directors adopted projected the 1% tax will raise almost $19 million this year.
November collections of the 0.625% countywide sales tax levied for road maintenance and replacement were unavailable at presstime. The state treasurer’s office reported 16 months of collections through October netted $23 million for Garland County and its incorporated areas.
The tax began being collected for county and city-maintained roads and bridges in summer 2022. Per the ballot title voters endorsed in a special election to reauthorize the tax in February of that year, the tax will sunset at the end of June 2027.
The $669,263 the Hot Springs Advertising and Promotion Commission reported in November collections of the 3% sales tax it levies on prepared food and lodging in the city beat the previous November by 3.73%, or $24,036. The tax collected close to $9.2 million through the first 11 months, a 7.84%, or more than $600,000, increase from the same period of 2022.
The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics’ preliminary unemployment report showed 40,133 of the 41,544 workers in the Hot Springs Metropolitan Statistical Area were employed in November. The 3.4% unemployment rate compared to 3.3% reported for November 2022.
BLS defines civilian labor force as people 16 or older who are working or actively looking for work.
The preliminary jobs report for December revealed the second straight year-overyear contraction of the area job market. The 41,500 jobs were 400 fewer than the previous December. Two hundred fewer jobs were reported in November. The local economy grew by more than 700 jobs a month on average during the 31-month expansion that ended in October.
Three hundred jobs a month were added on average last year.