LINCOLN - Nebraska's unemployment rate dropped once again to the lowest level on record in November, beating the previous national record it set the prior month, according to labor statistics released Friday. The State Department of Labor reported a seasonally adjusted unemployment rate of 1.8% last month, down from 1.9% in October. No other state has seen its rate drop below 2% since data collection began in 1976.

The average rate is even lower in Nebraska's largest cities. The Omaha area reported an unemployment rate of 1.5%, while the Lincoln area had a 1.1% rate and Grand Island recorded 1.2%. Nebraska has struggled with a chronic worker shortage even before the pandemic, a trend that has driven up wages and made it difficult for employers to hire and expand. Prominent business groups in the state have identified the lack of employees as their top concern.

Nebraska and other rural states typically have unemployment rates lower than the national average for a combination of reasons, including fewer people per job, more jobs with ties to agriculture and food production that are considered essential, and policies that discourage unemployment.

Some groups have argued that the unemployment rate is an incomplete picture of the state's economic health because it doesn't count people who have stopped looking for work.

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