Rate is Lowest in State’s History and Lowest Ever Nationwide

LINCOLN - The Nebraska Department of Labor (NDOL) announced today that Nebraska’s preliminary unemployment rate for April 2022 is 1.9 percent, seasonally adjusted. The rate is down 0.1 percentage points from the March 2022 rate of 2.0 percent and down 0.7 percentage points from the April 2021 rate of 2.6 percent.  The rate is an all-time low for Nebraska and ties the record low for any state.  National unemployment rate rankings are available here: https://www.bls.gov/web/laus/laumstrk.htm. Nebraska’s April rate is tied for lowest rate in the country.

“The number of employed workers in the labor force has been at historically high levels since July of 2021,” said Commissioner of Labor John H. Albin.  “The Omaha metro reached a record high employment level at nearly half a million in April, and the Lincoln metro has seen record highs for two straight months.”

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 1,028,675 in April, up 10,245 over the month and up 25,052 over the year.  Private industries with the most growth month to month were mining and construction (up 2,957), leisure and hospitality (up 2,664), and professional and business services (up 1,541).  Private industries with the most growth year to year were trade, transportation, and utilities (up 7,262); leisure and hospitality (up 5,828); and education and health services (up 3,818). 

The national seasonally adjusted unemployment rate for April 2022 is 3.6 percent, unchanged from the March 2022 rate and down 2.4 percentage points from the April 2021 rate of 6.0 percent.

May 2022 Nebraska employment data will be published Friday, June 17, 2022. 

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: dol.nebraska.gov/PressRelease