The Nebraska Department of Labor (NDOL) announced today that Nebraska’s preliminary unemployment rate for April was 2.9 percent, seasonally adjusted. The rate increased by 0.1 percentage points from the March 2019 rate and is up 0.1 percentage points from the April 2018 rate of 2.8 percent.

“Nebraska’s labor force employment reached an all-time high of 1,002,090 people in April,” said Commissioner of Labor John H. Albin. “An increased number of individuals entering or re-entering the job market in April contributed to the slightly higher unemployment rate. Impacts of the historic flooding and winter weather in March were not seen in the April 2019 nonfarm employment and labor force data. Nebraska will continue to work with federal partners at the Bureau of Labor Statistics to monitor long-term impacts on the labor force.”

Nonfarm employment was 1,025,019 in April, up 3,233 over the year and up 11,489 over the month. Private industries with the most growth year over year were professional and business services (up 2,080), financial activities (up 1,075) and other services (up 882). Month to month, the largest gains were seen in mining and construction (up 4,281), professional and business services (up 3,049), and leisure and hospitality (up 1,553).

The national seasonally adjusted unemployment rate for April was 3.6 percent, down 0.2 percentage points from the March 2019 rate of 3.8 percent and down 0.3 percentage points from the April 2018 rate of 3.9 percent. For more April 2019 data, go to dol.nebraska.gov/InfoLink.

Nonfarm employment data can be found at NEworks.nebraska.gov/CES and Local Area Unemployment Statistics (LAUS) data can be found at NEworks.nebraska.gov/LAUS. May 2019 Nebraska data will be published Friday, June 21.