The Nebraska Department of Labor (NDOL) announced that the state’s preliminary seasonally adjusted unemployment rate for November 2024 is 2.8%. This represents a slight increase of 0.1% from October 2024 and a 0.3% rise compared to November 2023, when the rate was 2.5%. Despite the uptick, Nebraska’s unemployment rate remains the fifth lowest in the nation.
Labor Commissioner John H. Albin highlighted that Nebraska’s labor force reached a record high of 1,057,890 in November, continuing a trend of growth with nearly 2,000 additional participants over the past year. Total non-farm employment, which measures filled jobs, stood at 1,084,052, reflecting a decrease of 1,522 jobs since October but a year-over-year increase of 21,075 jobs.
Private sector industries leading month-to-month job growth included trade, transportation, and utilities, which added 1,320 jobs; other services, up 520 jobs; and private education and health services, which grew by 366 jobs. Over the past year, private education and health services saw the largest gains with 7,244 new jobs, followed by manufacturing with 3,633 jobs and leisure and hospitality with 2,281 jobs.
On the national level, the seasonally adjusted unemployment rate for November 2024 was 4.2%, up 0.1% from the previous month and 0.5% higher than November 2023.
NDOL encourages employers to take advantage of resources such as NEworks.nebraska.gov, where they can post job openings for free and collaborate with local job centers to access programs designed to recruit, train, and expand their workforce. Nebraska’s employment data for December 2024 is scheduled for release on January 28, 2025.
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