LINCOLN - The Nebraska Department of Labor (NDOL) announced today that Nebraska’s preliminary unemployment rate for October 2022 is 2.4 percent, seasonally adjusted. The rate is up 0.2 percentage points from the September 2022 rate of 2.2 and is the same as the October 2021 rate of 2.4 percent.  National unemployment rate rankings are available here: bls.gov/web/laus/laumstrk.htm.   

“Total nonfarm employment reached a record high of 1,044,832 in October,” said Commissioner of Labor John H. Albin. “That’s over 2,000 more filled jobs than the prior high reached in June of this year.”

October’s nonfarm employment is up 8,448 over the month and up 28,106 over the year.  Private industries with the most growth month to month were trade, transportation, and utilities (up 3,121); education and health services (up 1,862); and mining and construction (up 1,385).  Private industries with the most growth year to year were trade, transportation, and utilities (up 6,020); leisure and hospitality (up 5,490); and education and health services (up 4,657).

Over one million Nebraskans have been employed since August of 2020. 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.

The national seasonally adjusted unemployment rate for October 2022 is 3.7 percent, up 0.2 percentage points from the September 2022 rate of 3.5 percent and down 0.9 percentage points from the October 2021 rate of 4.6 percent.

November 2022 Nebraska labor force and employment data will be published Friday, December 16, 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 employment data is available at dol.nebraska.gov/INFOlink.  NDOL press releases are accessible here: dol.nebraska.gov/PressRelease