LINCOLN- Local and state unemployment rates fell last month to their lowest levels since the coronavirus pandemic started.

According to data released Tuesday by the Nebraska Department of Labor, Nebraska's unemployment rate in September was 3.5%, while the rate for the Lincoln area was 3.2%. Those rates were both significantly higher than they were a year ago, but they are at their lowest levels since February. The state rate was the lowest in the nation for the second month in a row.

Commissioner of Labor John Albin said job numbers have continued to climb, with Nebraska topping 1 million jobs in September for the first time since March. “Not only does the unemployment rate continue to drop, but Nebraska’s non-farm job count continues to increase,” he said in a news release.

Eric Thompson, director of the Bureau of Business Research at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, said Current Employment Statistics data shows Nebraska has recovered only about 70% of the total jobs lost since April.

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