LINCOLN - The Nebraska Department of Labor (NDOL) announced today that Nebraska’s preliminary unemployment rate for November 2022 is 2.5 percent, seasonally adjusted. The rate is up 0.1 percentage points from the October 2022 rate of 2.4 percent and is down 0.1 percentage points from the November 2021 rate of 2.4 percent.  National unemployment rate rankings are available here: bls.gov/web/laus/laumstrk.htm.   

“Total nonfarm employment reached another record high of 1,048,406 in November,” said Commissioner of Labor John H. Albin. “This is the second consecutive month of record nonfarm employment in Nebraska.”

November’s nonfarm employment is up 2,554 over the month and up 29,117 over the year.  Private industries with the most growth month to month were trade, transportation, and utilities (up 3,030); other services (up 527); and mining and construction (up 474).  Private industries with the most growth year to year were mining and construction (up 5,869); leisure and hospitality (up 5,286); and trade, transportation, and utilities (up 5,003).

Over one million Nebraskans have been employed since August of 2020. The counts of employed and unemployed in the labor force are based on a survey conducted by the Census Bureau regarding employment status.  Both individuals who are claiming unemployment benefits and those who are not claiming can be counted as unemployed based on their survey responses.  Individuals who are not working and are not seeking work are not considered part of the labor force and are not included in the unemployment rate calculation.

The national seasonally adjusted unemployment rate for November 2022 is 3.7 percent, the same rate as the November 2022 rate and down 0.5 percentage points from the November 2021 rate of 4.2 percent.

December 2022 Nebraska labor force and employment data will be published Tuesday, January 24, 2023.  

Employers looking for qualified applicants are encouraged to post their jobs for free on NEworks.nebraska.gov and partner with their closest job center to take advantage of programs geared at recruiting, upskilling, and expanding their workforce.

More employment data is available at dol.nebraska.gov/INFOlink.  NDOL press releases are accessible here: dol.nebraska.gov/PressRelease