NEBRASKA- Nebraska’s unemployment rate remained almost unchanged last month while the rates in some of its biggest cities increased slightly, according to state figures released Friday.

The Nebraska Department of Labor reported a statewide, seasonally adjusted unemployment rate of 2.5% in June, compared with 2.6% in May.

The rate is substantially lower than the 6.6% unemployment rate in June 2020, in the heat of the coronavirus pandemic.

Meanwhile, the non-seasonally adjusted rates in the Omaha, Lincoln and Grand Island areas ticked upward.

The Omaha area’s unemployment rate increased to 3.2% in June, from 2.7% the prior month. The Lincoln area’s rate increased to 2.5%, from 2.2% the previous month. And the Grand Island area’s rate rose to 2.8% in June, up from 2.4% in May.

Total nonfarm employment statewide was 1,018,392 in June, an increase from 1,013,414 in May, according to the department.

The total in the Omaha area was 498,572 in June, compared with 493,786 in May. For Lincoln, it was 189,262 in June and 189,704 in May. And in Grand Island, it was 41,479 in June and 41,423 in May. In Iowa, the unemployment rate rose slightly to 4% in June as more residents began looking for work, according to statistics released Friday.

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