LINCOLN - Nebraska’s preliminary unemployment rate for August 2023 is 2.0 percent, seasonally adjusted. The rate is unchanged from the July 2023 rate of and is down 0.6 percentage points from the August 2022 rate of 2.6 percent. National unemployment rate rankings are available here: bls.gov/web/laus/laumstrk.htm.  

“While the size of the labor force is steady over the year, the number of employed workers is up 6,191 over last August, and the number of unemployed workers is down 5,898,” said Commissioner of Labor John H. Albin. 

Nonfarm employment, a count of filled jobs, was 1,041,468 in August, down 5,042 over the month and up 13,578 over the year.  The private industry with the most growth month to month was private education and health services  (up 190 jobs).  Private industries with the most over the year growth were leisure and hospitality services (up 4,353 jobs), private education and health services (up 3,790 jobs), and other services (up 3,176 jobs).

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 August 2023 is 3.8 percent, up 0.3 percentage points from the July 2023 rate of 3.5 percent.  The rate is up 0.1 percentage points from the August 2022 rate of 3.7 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.

September 2023 Nebraska employment data will be published Friday, October 20, 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.