Nebraska’s Jobless Rate Hit 3% In May

LINCOLN- (AP June 21) – Officials say Nebraska’s unemployment rate has risen again, hitting 3% in May.

The Nebraska Labor Department said in a news release Friday that the preliminary May rate is up a tenth of a point from April’s 2.9% and March’s rate of 2.8%. The May 2018 rate was 2.8% as well.

The new Nebraska rate is well below May’s national preliminary rate of 3.6% – unchanged from April.

The department says the state labor force grew marginally faster than the number of individuals employed in May, forcing the jobless rate to rise. The department says a record number of Nebraskans were employed last month.

The preliminary May nonfarm employment figure rose nearly 1.04 million.