June 23, 2021

Rate Tied for Second Lowest in the Nation

LINCOLN - The Nebraska Department of Labor (NDOL) announced today that Nebraska’s preliminary unemployment rate for May 2021 is 2.6 percent, seasonally adjusted. The rate is down 0.2 percentage points from the April 2021 rate of 2.8 percent and down 2.8 percentage points from the May 2020 rate of 5.4 percent.

“Nebraska’s nonfarm employment, a count of filled jobs, continues to increase and is up 7,625 over the month and 60,534 over the year,” said Commissioner of Labor John H. Albin. “Many industries saw increases both over the month and over the year.”

Nonfarm employment was 1,015,016 in May. Private industries with the most growth month to month were leisure and hospitality (up 2,033); trade, transportation, and utilities (up 1,231); and mining and construction (up 912).  Private industries with the most growth year to year were leisure and hospitality (up 19,351); trade, transportation, and utilities (up 9,626); and education and health (up 9,066). 

The national seasonally adjusted unemployment rate for May 2021 is 5.8 percent, down 0.3 percentage points from the May 2021 rate of 6.1 percent.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) issued the following statement regarding claims data and unemployment estimates: “Data users must be cautious about trying to compare or reconcile the UI claims data with the official unemployment figures gathered through the household survey. The unemployment data derived from the household survey in no way depend upon the eligibility for or receipt of UI benefits. In some cases, UI claims data exclude people who would be identified as unemployed in the household survey, like new entrants to the labor force with no prior work experience. In other cases, UI data may include individuals who do not meet the CPS definition of unemployment.”

Effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on employment and unemployment data can be found on the BLS website www.bls.gov/bls/bls-covid-19-questions-and-answers.htm 

NDOL job centers across the state are helping Nebraskans return to the workforce, and a variety of programs are available, including on-the-job training. The job centers also host job fairs and provide resume and interview assistance. Contact information can be found here: dol.nebraska.gov/ContactUs

June 2021 Nebraska data will be published Friday, July 16. 

More NDOL press releases are accessible here: https://dol.nebraska.gov/PressRelease