Nebraska again sets record low unemployment rate
Construction continues on the South Beltway on the east side of U.S. 77 on Nov. 17. Nebraska set another record for low unemployment for the month.
Nebraska employers are getting creative — and sometimes more generous — as they try to fill vacancies during the state’s acute labor shortage. Nebraska has tens of thousands of job openings at a time when Nebraska’s unemployment rate is 2.2%, its lowest since the state began collecting unemployment data in 1976.
The records just keep falling when it comes to unemployment in Nebraska.
The Nebraska Department of Labor on Friday reported that the state’s unemployment rate fell to 1.8% in November, which broke October’s record low of 1.9%. The rate in November 2020 was 3.4%.
Not only is the unemployment rate the lowest ever recorded in the Nebraska, it’s also the lowest rate recorded by any state in records that go back to 1976.
Compared with a year ago, there were 16,204 more Nebraskans employed and 17,171 fewer unemployed. The total number of jobs rose by more than 30,500 over November 2020.
“The number of unemployed workers in the labor force reached a historical low of 18,127 in November, while the number of employed workers was above 1 million for the third straight month,” Commissioner of Labor John H. Albin said in a news release.
The unemployment rate in the Lincoln area also fell to a record low of 1.1%, down from 1.3% in October. A year ago the rate was 3%.
There were nearly 6,000 more people employed in the Lincoln area in November than there were a year ago, while the number listed as unemployed fell by more than 3,500. Job numbers were up more than 5,700 compared with November 2020.
The leisure and hospitality sector saw the biggest bounce-back both locally and statewide over the past year, adding nearly 7,300 jobs in Nebraska, including more than 1,800 in the Lincoln area.
The state’s other two designated metropolitan areas also saw extremely low unemployment rates, with Grand Island at 1.2% and Omaha at 1.5%.
The three areas ranked third, seventh and 11th in October for the lowest rates among all U.S. metro areas.
Nebraska, as it has for several months in a row, had the lowest unemployment rate in the country. The national rate for November was 4.2%.
5 charts that show how the economy is doing in Lincoln and Nebraska
Lincoln-area unemployment rate over time
Lancaster County employment rate, by income level
Change in Nebraska small business revenue
Change in Nebraska small businesses in operation
Nebraska unemployment rates by county
Reach the writer at 402-473-2647 or molberding@journalstar.com.
On Twitter @LincolnBizBuzz.
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