LINCOLN - Nebraska’s preliminary unemployment rate for May 2023 is 1.9 percent, seasonally adjusted. The rate is down 0.1 percentage points from the April 2023 rate of 2.0 percent and is down 0.2 percentage points from the May 2022 rate of 2.1 percent.  The rate is tied for lowest in the country. National unemployment rate rankings are available here: bls.gov/web/laus/laumstrk.htm.   

“The preliminary May unemployment rate is a historical low for Nebraska,” said Commissioner of Labor John H. Albin. “The total nonfarm count of filled jobs is at a historical high at 1,044,702, surpassing the prior high count of filled jobs in November 2022 by 1,009.”

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.

Unemployment rate and nonfarm employment data released by BLS and NDOL are subject to revisions monthly and annually. For more information visit www.bls.gov/web/empsit/cestn.htm#section7. 

Nonfarm employment was up 1,985 over the month and up 18,549 over the year.  Private industries with the most growth month to month were leisure and hospitality (up 1,783 jobs), private education and health services (up 1,141 jobs), and mining and construction (up 667 jobs). Private industries with the most over the year growth were private education and health services (up 6,376 jobs), leisure and hospitality service (up 4,950 jobs), and mining and construction (up 3,950 jobs).

The national seasonally adjusted unemployment rate for May 2023 is 3.7 percent, up 0.3 percentage points from the April 2023 rate of 3.4 percent.  This rate is up 0.1 percentage points from the May 2022 rate of 3.6 percent.

June 2023 Nebraska employment data will be published Friday, July 21, 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