Nebraska’s November 2024 Unemployment Rate is 2.8 Percent

LINCOLN - The Nebraska Department of Labor (NDOL) announced today that Nebraska’s preliminary unemployment rate for November 2024 is 2.8 percent, seasonally adjusted. The rate is up 0.1 percent from the October 2024 rate and is up 0.3 percentage points from the November 2023 rate of 2.5 percent.  Nebraska's rate is ranked fifth lowest in the nation. National unemployment rate rankings are available here: bls.gov/web/laus/laumstrk.htm.

“Nebraska’s labor force reached an all-time high in November at 1,057,890, which follows last month’s record high in total non-farm jobs,” said Commissioner of Labor John H. Albin.  “Our labor force has grown by nearly 2,000 people over the year.” 

The counts of employed and unemployed in the labor force are based on a survey conducted by the Census Bureau regarding employment status. Individuals who are claiming unemployment benefits and those who are not claiming unemployment benefits 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.

Total on-farm employment, a count of filled jobs, was 1,084,052 in November, down 1,522 over the month and up 21,075 over the year. Private industries with the most growth month to month were trade, transportation, and utilities (up 1,320 jobs); other services (up 520 jobs); and private education and health services (up 366 jobs). Private industries with the most over-the-year growth were private education and health services (up 7,244 jobs); manufacturing (up 3,633 jobs); and leisure and hospitality (up (2,281 jobs).

The national seasonally adjusted unemployment rate for November 2024 is 4.2 percent, up 0.1 percent from the October 2024 rate and up 0.5 percentage points from the November 2023 rate of 3.7 percent.

December 2024 Nebraska employment data will be published Tuesday, January 28, 2024.

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.