Rate is Lowest in the Nation and a Record Low for Nebraska 

The Nebraska Department of Labor (NDOL) announced today that Nebraska’s preliminary unemployment rate for August 2021 is 2.2 percent, seasonally adjusted. The rate is down 0.1 percentage points from the July 2021 rate of 2.3 percent and down 1.8 percentage points from the August 2020 rate of 4.0 percent.  Unemployment data goes back to 1976, and the August rate is the lowest on record for Nebraska. National unemployment rate rankings are available here: https://www.bls.gov/web/laus/laumstrk.htm

“The number of unemployed individuals has been dropping since July of last year and is now at 22,364, which is the lowest it has been since 1998,” said Commissioner of Labor John H. Albin. “Labor force employment was up to 999,563 in August, the highest level since March of 2020 prior to the pandemic.”

The counts of employed and unemployed in the labor force are based on a survey conducted by the Census Bureau regarding employment status.  Both individuals who are claiming unemployment benefits and those who are not claiming can be counted as unemployed based on their survey responses.  Individuals who are not working and are not seeking work are not considered part of the labor force and are not included in the unemployment rate calculation.

Nonfarm employment, a count of filled jobs, was 1,019,012 in August, up 4,896 over the month and up 33,460 over the year. Private industries with the most growth month to month were education and health (up 1,672); trade, transportation, and utilities (up 1,334); and professional and business services (up 1,173).  Private industries with the most growth year to year were leisure and hospitality (up 7,638); education and health (up 7,236); and trade, transportation, and utilities (up 6,460). 

The national seasonally adjusted unemployment rate for August 2021 is 5.2 percent, down 0.2 percentage points from the July 2021 rate of 5.4 percent and down 3.2 percentage points from the July 2020 rate of 8.4 percent. 

September 2021 Nebraska employment data will be published Friday, October 22, 2021.

Employers looking for qualified applicants are encouraged to post their jobs for free on NEworks.nebraska.gov and partner with their closest job center to take advantage of programs geared at recruiting, upskilling, and expanding their workforce.

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