Nebraska’s unemployment rate for January 2026 was released by the Department of Labor this week.
Despite being at its highest rate in two years, Nebraska’s three percent unemployment rate was still good for sixth in national rankings. That three percent rate has also been unchanged since November 2025.
From January 2025 to January 2026, Nebraska’s labor force took a slight drop of about 14,000, from 1,104,502 in 2025 down to 1,104,681.
In January 2024, unemployment was around 2.5%. In 2025, that percentage rose to 2.9% in January. And for a third straight year annual unemployment rose to the current 3% mark.
There were only five states ahead of Nebraska for lowest unemployment: Vermont and Alabama (tied for fourth at 2.7%), North Dakota (2.6%), and another tie for number one between South Dakota and Hawaii (2.2%). All of those states – including Nebraska – were well-above the national average of 4.3% unemployment.
For a full list of national unemployment rankings, click here.
The last set of data from the Department of Labor gave average earnings of Nebraska employees. On average, Nebraskans are working 42 hours per week while making $27.61 per hour. On a weekly basis, Nebraskans are bringing home an average just shy of $1160.
