Nebraska unemployment rate stays steady in September

Nebraska on Friday released September unemployment numbers – about a month and a half later than usual.

According to the state Department of Labor, the unemployment rate was 3% in September, the same as it was in August and just a smidge higher than the 2.9% rate in September 2024.

The number of people working continued to rise, up about 2,100 over August and 17,000 over a year ago.

“In September, statewide employment reached a historical high for the ninth consecutive month at over 1,059,500,” Commissioner of Labor Katie Thurber said in a news release.

However, the number of people listed as unemployed also continues to rise. It was only up by 56 people over August, but there were an additional 1,300 unemployed people in September than there were in September 2024.

And that number may continue to climb.

Nebraska has seen more people lose their jobs through mass layoffs this year than in the past two years combined. That includes a recent announcement by Tyson Foods that it will shut down its giant beef processing plant in Lexington on Jan. 20, a move that will put more than 3,200 people out of work.

And the most recent weekly unemployment claims data, for the week ending Nov. 29, shows Nebraska numbers almost doubling, from 845 the previous week, to 1,677.

That number was the second-highest weekly claim total in more than four years. The only week that was higher was earlier this year, when 2,151 people made initial claims for unemployment the week ending May 24.

September unemployment figures would normally be released in mid-October, but data was delayed by the federal government shutdown that lasted from the beginning of October into the second week of November.

Because the federal Department of Labor was shut down during that time, no October unemployment data will be released. The Nebraska Department of Labor said it will release November data on Jan. 9