LINCOLN- After surprisingly strong growth in both jobs and income during 2023, growth should continue at more modest levels over the next several years, a team of state economists projects. Nebraska appears headed for 1.7% job growth in 2023, according to the forecast report from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln’s Bureau of Business Research.

A number of factors drove that growth — including a bounce-back in the restaurant and leisure industry and more-normal levels of immigration — and higher interest rates did not deter growth as much as expected. In all, it appears Nebraska will add 18,000 nonfarm jobs this year. That's almost equal to the 19,000 added in 2022, when the state finally recovered most of the jobs lost during the pandemic job crunch.

Likewise, it appears nonfarm personal income will finish the year with a solid 6.7% growth, well above projections and outpacing the 4% growth in inflation. That means real income growth for many Nebraskans this year. Indeed, the forecast for the next few years calls for more moderate growth, with job numbers rising less than 1% in each of the next three years.

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