Nebraska Hits Another Unemployment Rate Low, But How Low Can it Go?

Oct. 22, 2021, 2:53 p.m. ·

Nebraska's Unemployment Rate in a Chart

Nebraska's unemployment rate dropped to 2% last month, the lowest recorded rate in the state's history. The Nebraska Department of Labor says the state's overall jobless rate was down slightly from last month's record low and dropped by almost 2-percentage points compared to last September. Omaha's rate last month was even lower, at 1.7%, with Norfolk and Kearney recording the state's lowest rate at 1.1%. Sarah Curry is the policy director with the Omaha-based Platte Institute and said there's not much more room to go down.

“I don’t think it will get any lower than that because you never have 100% participation in the labor market, so rates might go up in the future, and that’s not a bad thing,” Curry said. “I would say 2.2%, 2.5%, that’s not doom and gloom. That’s still right within a very, very healthy unemployment range.”

She said the state's tight labor market is a bigger problem, with far more available jobs than workers. She said state leaders are actively recruiting people to move here to fill those jobs. Nebraska's unemployment rate is the lowest in the nation.