Rate is Tied for Lowest in the Country

LINCOLN - The Nebraska Department of Labor (NDOL) announced today that Nebraska’s preliminary unemployment rate for February 2022 is 2.1 percent, seasonally adjusted. The rate is down 0.1 percentage points from the January 2022 rate of 2.2 percent.  Unemployment data goes back to 1976, and the February 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 employed workers in Nebraska’s labor force reached an all-time high of 1,034,720 in February,” said commissioner of Labor John H. Albin.  “Employment is up 20,747 from February 2021.”

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 1,012,785  in February, up 13,395 over the month and up 28,858 over the year.  Private industries with the most growth month to month were leisure and hospitality (up 2,123); professional and business services (up 1,901); and trade, transportation, and utilities (up 1,364).

The national seasonally adjusted unemployment rate for February 2022 is 3.8 percent, down 0.2 percentage points from the January 2022 rate of 4.0 percent.  The national unemployment rate is down 2.4 percentage points from the February 2021 rate of 6.2 percent.

March 2022 Nebraska employment data and sub-state benchmarked labor force data for 2017-2021 will be published Friday, April 15, 2022 at NEworks.nebraska.gov. Statewide benchmarked labor force data for 2017-2021 is now available on NEworks.   

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