LINCOLN - The Nebraska Department of Labor (NDOL) announced today that Nebraska’s preliminary unemployment rate for May 2024 is 2.5 percent, seasonally adjusted. The rate is unchanged since September 2023 and is up 0.4 percentage points from the May 2023 rate of 2.1 percent. Nebraska's rate is ranked fourth lowest in the nation. National unemployment rate rankings are available here: bls.gov/web/laus/laumstrk.htm.   

“Nebraska’s total nonfarm employment has been on an upward trajectory since February and reached an all-time high in May at 1,077,200,” said Commissioner of Labor John H. Albin. “Omaha’s leisure and hospitality industry saw a large gain over the month, with all the metro areas reaching record highs in total nonfarm employment.”

The counts of employed and unemployed in the labor force are based on a survey conducted by the Census Bureau regarding employment status.  Individuals who are claiming unemployment benefits and those who are not claiming unemployment benefits 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 up 11,610 over the month and 25,264 over the year. Private industries with the most growth month to month were leisure and hospitality (up 4,306 jobs); private education and health services (up 1,707 jobs); and mining and construction (up 1,451 jobs). Private industries with the most over-the-year growth were private education and health services (up 8,160 jobs); leisure and hospitality (up 4,257 jobs); and manufacturing (up 4,127 jobs).

The national seasonally adjusted unemployment rate for May 2024 is 4.0 percent, up 0.1 percentage points from the April 2024 rate of 3.9 percent and up 0.3 percentage points from the May 2023 rate of 3.7 percent.

June 2024 Nebraska employment data will be published Friday, July 19, 2024.

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