LINCOLN - Nebraska’s preliminary unemployment rate for June 2023 is 1.9 percent, seasonally adjusted. The rate is unchanged from the May 2023 rate and is down 0.3 percentage points from the June 2022 rate of 2.2 percent. The rate is tied for second lowest in the country. National unemployment rate rankings are available here: bls.gov/web/laus/laumstrk.htm.  

“This is the second consecutive month Nebraska reached a new high in nonfarm employment,” said Commissioner of Labor John H. Albin.  “The new high in June of 1,056,575 was due to a large over the month increase in the Omaha MSA, which also reached a new high in June of 514,707.”

Nonfarm employment, a count of filled jobs, was up 10,429 over the month and up 27,157 over the year.  Private industries with the most growth month to month were leisure and hospitality (up 3,455 jobs), mining and construction (up 1,833 jobs), and trade, transportation and utilities (up 1,457 jobs). Private industries with the most over the year growth were private education and health services (up 6,899 jobs), leisure and hospitality service (up 6,021 jobs), and mining and construction (up 4,237 jobs).

June was the fourth straight month of record highs both in the total Nebraska labor force (1,062,783) and the number of employed workers in the labor force (1,042,325). 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 June 2023 is 3.6 percent, down 0.1 percentage points from the May 2023 rate of 3.7 percent.  This rate is unchanged from the June 2022 rate of 3.6 percent.

Unemployment rates 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.

July 2023 Nebraska employment data will be published Friday, August 18, 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.