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Local Area Unemployment Statistics, State and Area Employment, JOLTS · Nebraska

How is the job market in Nebraska?

The unemployment rate in Nebraska was 2.9% in the month ended , against 4.2% for the United States.

Nebraska, unemployment, each month

December 2015 to September 2026As published, seasonally adjusted where the table says soNo picture is made of these rows; their numbers are in the table

Nebraska, unemployment, each month, one row for each measure
  • Unemployment rate2.9%2.0% to 8.2%
  • Participation rate69.2%69.1% to 70.5%
  • Employment-population ratio67.2%64.0% to 68.3%

Nebraska, people, each month

December 2015 to September 2026As published, seasonally adjusted where the table says soEach row has a scale of its own, printed under its nameNo picture is made of these rows; their numbers are in the table

Nebraska, people, each month, one row for each measure
  • Labor force, thousands1,095.41,016.9 to 1,104.8
  • Employed, thousands1,064.1958.9 to 1,071.6
  • Unemployed, thousands31.321.4 to 85.6

Nebraska, jobs and pay, each month

December 2015 to September 2026As published, seasonally adjusted where the table says soEach row has a scale of its own, printed under its nameNo picture is made of these rows; their numbers are in the table

Nebraska, jobs and pay, each month, one row for each measure
  • Nonfarm payrolls, thousands1,063.3934.0 to 1,063.5
  • Average hourly earnings$32.89$22.94 to $33.33
  • Average weekly hours33.731.7 to 34.6

Nebraska, openings and turnover rates, each month

December 2015 to September 2026As published, seasonally adjusted where the table says soNo picture is made of these rows; their numbers are in the table

Nebraska, openings and turnover rates, each month, one row for each measure
  • Job openings rate3.5%3.3% to 7.5%
  • Hires rate3.0%2.8% to 5.1%
  • Quits rate2.2%1.1% to 3.5%
  • Layoffs and discharges rate0.9%0.7% to 7.6%
  • Total separations rate3.3%2.7% to 10.0%

Each row is one measure of Nebraska over the last ten years, one month to a point, with its newest value and its range printed beside it and a dashed line at zero. A gap is a month with no value. Pointing at the chart shows the month and the value.

Observed .

Nebraska, openings and turnover, each month

December 2015 to September 2026As published, seasonally adjusted where the table says soEach row has a scale of its own, printed under its nameNo picture is made of these rows; their numbers are in the table

Nebraska, openings and turnover, each month, one row for each measure
  • Job openings, thousands3832 to 83
  • Hires, thousands3230 to 53
  • Quits, thousands2310 to 36
  • Layoffs and discharges, thousands107 to 78
  • Total separations, thousands3529 to 103

Each row is one measure of Nebraska over the last ten years, one month to a point, with its newest value and its range printed beside it and a dashed line at zero. A gap is a month with no value. Pointing at the chart shows the month and the value.

Observed .

Right now

The unemployment rate in Nebraska was 2.9% in September 2026, ranking 46th highest of 51 among the states and the District of Columbia.

Over a year it is unchanged (ours). The rate for the United States was 4.2% in the same month. The source marks this value preliminary.

The unemployment rate in September 2026 was the lowest since November 2024.

See every measure with its value and rank

Jobs and payOurs: change and rank

Nonfarm payroll employment was 1,063.3 thousand in September 2026, up 0.4% over a year (ours), 36th highest of 51.

Average hourly earnings of all employees on private payrolls was $32.89 in September 2026, up 0.3% over a year (ours), 40th highest of 51.

See the payrolls, hours and earnings

Job openings and turnoverOurs: change and rank

The job openings rate was 3.5% in December 2025, down 0.7 percentage points over a year (ours), 39th highest of 51.

The hires rate was 3.0% in December 2025, unchanged over a year (ours), 41st highest of 51.

The quits rate was 2.2% in December 2025, up 0.4 percentage points over a year (ours), 18th highest of 51.

See every openings and turnover figure

Understanding the labor market of Nebraska

Where it stands today

The unemployment rate in Nebraska was 2.9% in September 2026.

What do the figures for Nebraska measure?

This page gathers the labor market figures of Nebraska that the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) publishes: how many people are in the labor force, at work and unemployed, how many payroll jobs there are and what they pay, and how many jobs are open and how many people were hired, quit or lost a job.

Read more

The unemployment figures come from Local Area Unemployment Statistics, a model that BLS runs for each state every month. The payroll jobs, hours and earnings come from a monthly survey of employers, and the job openings and labor turnover from the Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS).

What 500metrics adds: each figure's rank among the fifty states and the District of Columbia, its change over a year, the last time it was higher and lower, the nation's figure beside a rate where BLS gives one, and the last ten years of every figure as small charts.

The numbers behind the chart

What are the latest figures for Nebraska?19 measures, each in its own newest month
Nebraska: the newest month of each measure, its change over a year (ours), its rank among the states and the District of Columbia, the nation's value and the last months it was higher and lower (ours)
MeasureSectionMonthValueChange over a yearRankUnited StatesLast higherLast lower
Unemployment rateUnemployment2.9%0.0 pts46 of 514.2%
Participation rateUnemployment69.2%−1.0 pts2 of 5161.8%
Employment-population ratioUnemployment67.2%−0.9 pts2 of 5159.2%
Labor forcePeople1,095.4 thousand−0.7%36 of 51n/a
EmployedPeople1,064.1 thousand−0.6%36 of 51n/a
UnemployedPeople31.3 thousand−3.8%38 of 51n/a
Nonfarm payrollsJobs and pay1,063.3 thousand+0.4%36 of 51n/a
Average hourly earningsJobs and pay$32.89+0.3%40 of 51n/a
Average weekly hoursJobs and pay33.7 hours0.0%27 of 51n/a
Job openings rateOpenings and turnover rates3.5%−0.7 pts39 of 514.0%
Hires rateOpenings and turnover rates3.0%0.0 pts41 of 513.3%
Quits rateOpenings and turnover rates2.2%+0.4 pts18 of 512.0%
Layoffs and discharges rateOpenings and turnover rates0.9%−0.2 pts34 of 511.1%
Total separations rateOpenings and turnover rates3.3%+0.3 pts23 of 513.3%
Job openingsOpenings and turnover38 thousand−17.4%37 of 51n/a
HiresOpenings and turnover32 thousand0.0%37 of 51n/a
QuitsOpenings and turnover23 thousand+21.1%36 of 51n/a
Layoffs and dischargesOpenings and turnover10 thousand−16.7%37 of 51n/a
Total separationsOpenings and turnover35 thousand+9.4%37 of 51n/a

The table scrolls sideways; the first column stays in place.

What is the unemployment rate in each county of Nebraska?93 counties, September 2026, by name
Nebraska: the unemployment rate of each county in September 2026 and a year before, not seasonally adjusted (the change ours)
CountyRateA year beforeChange
Adams County2.5%2.5%0.0 pts
Antelope County2.0%2.5%−0.5 pts
Arthur County2.9%2.9%0.0 pts
Banner County3.6%3.4%+0.2 pts
Blaine County1.6%2.5%−0.9 pts
Boone County1.7%2.1%−0.4 pts
Box Butte County2.7%2.9%−0.2 pts
Boyd County2.3%2.5%−0.2 pts
Brown County1.8%2.2%−0.4 pts
Buffalo County2.2%2.3%−0.1 pts
Burt County2.7%3.2%−0.5 pts
Butler County1.8%2.4%−0.6 pts
Cass County2.5%2.8%−0.3 pts
Cedar County1.8%2.4%−0.6 pts
Chase County2.4%2.7%−0.3 pts
Cherry County1.7%2.1%−0.4 pts
Cheyenne County2.3%2.8%−0.5 pts
Clay County2.1%2.6%−0.5 pts
Colfax County2.1%2.6%−0.5 pts
Cuming County1.7%2.1%−0.4 pts
Custer County2.1%2.4%−0.3 pts
Dakota County2.5%2.5%0.0 pts
Dawes County2.4%2.5%−0.1 pts
Dawson County13.0%2.8%+10.2 pts
Deuel County2.4%2.9%−0.5 pts
Show 68 more rows
CountyRateA year beforeChange
Dixon County2.0%2.4%−0.4 pts
Dodge County2.1%2.7%−0.6 pts
Douglas County2.6%3.1%−0.5 pts
Dundy County1.8%2.1%−0.3 pts
Fillmore County1.9%2.1%−0.2 pts
Franklin County1.9%2.2%−0.3 pts
Frontier County3.0%3.1%−0.1 pts
Furnas County2.0%2.4%−0.4 pts
Gage County2.2%3.0%−0.8 pts
Garden County2.7%3.4%−0.7 pts
Garfield County2.5%3.1%−0.6 pts
Gosper County2.9%3.0%−0.1 pts
Grant County2.3%2.7%−0.4 pts
Greeley County3.0%3.2%−0.2 pts
Hall County3.6%2.8%+0.8 pts
Hamilton County2.1%2.2%−0.1 pts
Harlan County1.7%2.3%−0.6 pts
Hayes County2.7%3.0%−0.3 pts
Hitchcock County2.9%2.7%+0.2 pts
Holt County1.8%2.2%−0.4 pts
Hooker County4.4%3.5%+0.9 pts
Howard County3.0%2.2%+0.8 pts
Jefferson County2.3%3.2%−0.9 pts
Johnson County2.8%3.5%−0.7 pts
Kearney County2.1%2.4%−0.3 pts
Keith County2.1%2.3%−0.2 pts
Keya Paha County3.3%3.5%−0.2 pts
Kimball County2.1%2.4%−0.3 pts
Knox County2.2%2.7%−0.5 pts
Lancaster County2.3%2.7%−0.4 pts
Lincoln County2.1%2.4%−0.3 pts
Logan County3.4%2.6%+0.8 pts
Loup County3.3%3.0%+0.3 pts
Madison County2.1%2.5%−0.4 pts
McPherson County3.9%3.9%0.0 pts
Merrick County2.6%2.2%+0.4 pts
Morrill County2.8%2.8%0.0 pts
Nance County2.3%2.3%0.0 pts
Nemaha County2.6%3.0%−0.4 pts
Nuckolls County1.9%2.3%−0.4 pts
Otoe County2.3%2.6%−0.3 pts
Pawnee County2.2%3.1%−0.9 pts
Perkins County2.0%2.3%−0.3 pts
Phelps County2.0%2.1%−0.1 pts
Pierce County1.6%2.1%−0.5 pts
Platte County2.0%2.5%−0.5 pts
Polk County2.4%2.5%−0.1 pts
Red Willow County2.1%2.4%−0.3 pts
Richardson County2.1%2.6%−0.5 pts
Rock County2.1%2.5%−0.4 pts
Saline County2.5%2.8%−0.3 pts
Sarpy County2.3%2.7%−0.4 pts
Saunders County2.0%2.5%−0.5 pts
Scotts Bluff County2.8%3.1%−0.3 pts
Seward County2.1%2.3%−0.2 pts
Sheridan County2.2%2.4%−0.2 pts
Sherman County2.5%2.3%+0.2 pts
Sioux County2.2%2.8%−0.6 pts
Stanton County2.0%2.3%−0.3 pts
Thayer County2.0%2.5%−0.5 pts
Thomas County3.6%4.1%−0.5 pts
Thurston County2.6%2.8%−0.2 pts
Valley County1.9%2.2%−0.3 pts
Washington County2.2%2.6%−0.4 pts
Wayne County2.2%2.7%−0.5 pts
Webster County2.0%2.6%−0.6 pts
Wheeler County2.2%2.4%−0.2 pts
York County2.0%2.4%−0.4 pts
What do these figures leave out, and how are they cited?Limits, dates and how to cite

What this number cannot tell you

  • The unemployment figures of a state are estimates from a model, not a count. BLS revises the latest months as more data arrive and revises the past years every March.
  • The payroll figures are estimates from a survey of employers. BLS revises them twice after the first release and once a year, when it benchmarks them to the count of jobs covered by unemployment insurance. Average hourly earnings and average weekly hours are for all employees on private payrolls and are not seasonally adjusted.
  • The state figures of job openings and labor turnover come from a survey whose estimates for a single state have a larger sampling error than the nation's. Each figure shows its own newest month, which can be older than the month of the unemployment rate.
  • A rank is among the fifty states and the District of Columbia in the same month, highest value first, and a large state ranks high on a count of people or jobs. The changes, the ranks and the months a figure was last higher and lower are ours, worked out from the values BLS publishes.
  • The county rates are not seasonally adjusted, so each county's rate is set beside its own rate a year before.

Observed . Checked .

How to cite this

U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (Local Area Unemployment Statistics; Current Population Survey; State and Area Employment, Hours, and Earnings; Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey), labor market of Nebraska, through September 2026. Compiled by 500metrics, "How is the job market in Nebraska?", https://500metrics.com/states/nebraska.

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