Nebraska’s preliminary unemployment rate stayed at a seasonally adjusted 2.5% for the 6th straight month in March.
Nebraska Labor Commissioner John Albin says the last time the rate stayed the same for 6 months or more was from Dec 2018 to July 2019. It is a half-point higher than a year ago, but still ranks Nebraska 4th in the nation.
Nebraska also remains well under the national rate of the national seasonally adjusted rate of 3.8%, which was down a tenth of a point from February and up 3-10ths of a point from a year ago.
The state’s 3 Metropolitan Statistical Areas – Lincoln, Omaha, and Grand Island – were all 3-10ths of a point higher than last March but with solid improvement from February..
Lincoln came in at 2.3% for a 3-10ths of a point monthly reduction, Omaha was down 4-1ths of a point at 2.8%, and Grand Island’s 2.5% was half-a-point lower.
The jobless rate for the Scottsbluff Micropolitan Statistical Area was an even 3%, up 4-10ths of a point from last year but down 3-10th from February.
The statewide jobless rate is adjusted for seasonal factors while local rates are not, making comparisons between them meaningless.
Nonfarm employment, which counts filled jobs, rose in March to 1,056,877. That’s 7,742 more than in February and 22,332 more than last year.
The private industry sectors with the most growth for the month were Trade, Transportation, and Utilities (up 1,819 jobs); Leisure and Hospitality Services (up 1,585 jobs); and Mining and Construction (up 1,276 jobs).
Adding the most just jobs over the previous 12 months were Private Education and Health Services (up 6,765 jobs); Trade, Transportation, and Utilities (up 4,961 jobs); and Leisure and Hospitality Services (up 3,384 jobs).