Nebraska Unemployment Rate Falls To 2.0%, 2nd Lowest In The Country

      Nebraska’s preliminary unemployment rate for April dropped a tenth of a point to a seasonally-adjusted 2%, the same as a year ago and matching the state’s historic low.

     It’s also the second-lowest rate in the nation behind South Dakota’s 1.9% and well under the national rate for April of 3.6%.

      The jobless rate for Omaha was also 2%, an improvement of 3-tenths of a point for the month and 1-10th for the year, while Lincoln’s rate of 1.7% was down 2-10ths of a point for both the month and the year.

      Grand Island was also under 2% at 1.8% after dropping 3-10ths of a point from March and 1-10th from a year ago. The Scottsbluff micropolitan survey area posted an unemployment rate of 2.2%, the same as last April and down 2-10th for the month.

     The statewide rate is adjusted for seasonal factors while the local rates aren’t, making comparisons between the two meaningless.

       Nebraska Commissioner of Labor John Albin is celebrating that not only did April tie the historical low for the unemployment rate, it saw the state labor force reach a new all-time high for the second straight month.

      Nonfarm employment, a count of filled jobs, was 1,041,662 in April, up 3,851 from March and up 20,439 from last year.  

    The private industry sector with the most growth for the month was Mining and Construction with 1,887 jobs while the biggest growth from last Aprill came from Public Education and Health Services at 5,074 jobs with Leisure and Hospitality up 4,689.