LINCOLN - The Nebraska Department of Labor (NDOL) announced today that Nebraska’s preliminary unemployment rate for August 2024 is 2.7 percent, seasonally adjusted. The rate is up 0.1 percent from the July 2024 rate and is up 0.3 percentage points from the August 2023 rate of 2.4 percent.  Nebraska's rate is ranked fifth lowest in the nation. National unemployment rate rankings are available here: bls.gov/web/laus/laumstrk.htm.   

“New entrants and re-entrants to the labor force were up over the month and are the drivers of the uptick in the unemployment rate,” said Commissioner of Labor John H. Albin.

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, reached 1,071,382, down 2,300 over the month and up 21,696 over the year. Private industries with the most growth month to month were private education and health services (up 369 jobs); other services (up 268 jobs); and information (up 171 jobs). Private industries with the most over-the-year growth were private education and health services (up 8,024 jobs); manufacturing (up 4,184 jobs); and trade, transportation, and utilities (up 3,743 jobs).

The national seasonally adjusted unemployment rate for August 2024 is 4.2 percent, down 0.1 percentage points from the July 2024 rate of 4.3 percent and up 0.4 percentage points from the July 2023 rate of 3.8 percent.

September 2024 Nebraska employment data will be published Tuesday, October 22, 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