LINCOLN- Nebraska has dropped in a national ranking of states for low unemployment, dipping to a three-way tie for fourth place with a 2.2% unemployment rate.

At times around the start of the year and more recently, Nebraska’s unemployment rate was the lowest or tied for the lowest on record for any state.

Nebraska is only beaten by Minnesota, Utah, and Vermont. Nebraska shares the tie for fourth with New Hampshire and North Dakota.

Nationally, the seasonally adjusted unemployment rate is 3.5%. Nebraska's 2.2% compares with 2.1% a month ago and 2.5% a year ago. Six months ago, it was 1.9%.

Nebraska Labor Director John Albin said Friday that workforce participation is up over last year and that over 1 million Nebraskans have been employed consistently since August 2020.

“The number of unemployed workers is down 2,000 compared to a year ago, and we continue to see an uptick in people re-entering the labor force,” said Albin.

Local labor officials report that nonfarm employment, a count of filled jobs, was 1,034,979 in September, up 6,803 compared to August and up 26,650 compared to last September.

Private industries with the most growth since last September were education and health services (up 5,229); professional and business services (up 5,150); and trade, transportation and utilities (up 5,137).

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