Nebraska’s preliminary unemployment rate for February is a seasonally-adjusted 2.5%, unchanged for the 6th straight month. That’s up 4-10ths of a point from a year ago and the 5th-lowest rate in the nation.
The February unemployment rate in Omaha rose a tenth of a point to 3.1% while the Lincoln rate went up 2-tenths of a point to 2.6%.
Grand Island saw its rate drop a whopping 1.3-points from 4.2% to 2.9% while the Scottsbluff micropolitan statistical area saw its jobless rate go up 3-tenths to 3.3%.
Comparisons to February of last year aren’t available because the Labor Dept isn’t finished with benchmarking, its annual process to review and revise numbers from the previous year by using the latest available data.
Statewide unemployment rates are adjusted each month for seasonal factors with the local figures are not, making direct comparisons meaningless.
Labor Commissioner John Albin says Nebraska added 11,322 non-farm jobs last month, the biggest increase for February since 1939.
Nonfarm employment, a count of filled jobs, rose 19,645 for the 12-month period ending in February to sit at 1,048,697
The private industry sectors adding the most jobs between the January and February reports were Private Education and Health Services (up 2,034 jobs), Professional and Business Services (up 1,639 jobs), and Leisure and Hospitality (up 1,337 jobs).
Private industry sectors adding the most jobs over the 12 months were Private Education and Health Services (up 7,059 jobs); Trade, Transportation, and Utilities (up 3,460 jobs); and Leisure and Hospitality (up 3,031 jobs).
The seasonally adjusted national unemployment rate for February was 3.9%, up 2-tenths of a point from January and 3-tenths of percent from a year ago..