Rate is All Time Lowest in the Nation

LINCOLN - The Nebraska Department of Labor (NDOL) announced today that Nebraska’s preliminary unemployment rate for October 2021 is 1.9 percent, seasonally adjusted.  Unemployment data goes back to 1976, and the October rate is the lowest on record for Nebraska and the nation. The rate is down 0.1 percentage points from the September 2021 rate of 2.0 percent and down 1.7 percentage points from the October 2020 rate of 3.6 percent. National unemployment rate rankings are available here: https://www.bls.gov/web/laus/laumstrk.htm

“Total nonfarm employment is up over 30,000 from this time last year,” said Commissioner of Labor John H. Albin. “The month-to-month increase is the largest October increase on record.”

Nonfarm employment, a count of filled jobs, was 1,031,001 in October, up 10,718 over the month and up 30,566 over the year. Private industries with the most growth month to month were education and health (3,135); trade, transportation, and utilities (1,355); and financial activities (1,237).  Private industries with the most growth year to year were leisure and hospitality (6,137), professional and business services (5,297), and education and health (4,970).   

The national seasonally adjusted unemployment rate for October 2021 is 4.6 percent, down 0.2 percentage points from the September 2021 rate of 4.8 percent and down 2.3 percentage points from the October 2020 rate of 6.9 percent. 

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.

November 2021 Nebraska employment data will be published Friday, December 17, 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