Nebraska’s preliminary unemployment rate for March 2023 is 2.1 percent, seasonally adjusted. The rate is down 0.2 percentage points from the revised February 2023 rate of 2.3 percent and is up 0.1 percentage points from the March 2022 rate of 2.0 percent.  The rate is second lowest in the country. National unemployment rate rankings are available here: bls.gov/web/laus/laumstrk.htm.   

"March saw an increase in employed workers of nearly 3,000 and a decline in unemployed workers by over 2,000," said Commissioner of Labor John H. Albin.  "The unemployment rate dropped two tenths of a percent for the second straight month."

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 1,038,301 in March, up 7,053 over the month and 25,407 over the year.  Private industries with the most growth month to month were leisure and hospitality (up 1,589 jobs); mining and construction (up 1,313 jobs); and trade, transportation and utilities (up 781 jobs). Private industries with the most over the year growth were leisure and hospitality (up 5,752 jobs), mining and construction (up 4,762 jobs), and private education and health services (up 4,495 jobs).

The national seasonally adjusted unemployment rate for March 2023 is 3.5 percent, down 0.1 percentage points from the February 2023 rate of 3.6 percent.

April 2023 Nebraska employment data will be published Friday, May 19, 2023.

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