HASTINGS, Neb. (KSNB) – The state of Nebraska has released unemployment data for August, showing a drop in the statewide unemployment rate.
The report uses unadjusted seasonal data instead of seasonally adjusted data in order to provide the most accurate numbers. Seasonally adjusted data takes into account seasonal work patterns like teaching and holiday employees.
2026 State of Nebraska unemployment numbers.(NEWORKS)State of Nebraska
Nebraska’s highest unemployment rate of the year came in February, at 3.5%, or roughly 38,000 individuals unemployed. That number has been dropping since then, with the state now at 2.8%, or roughly 31,000 individuals unemployed. That is down about 2,000 people from July and below the national rate of 4.3%.
A previous version of this article stated that the national unemployment rate was 4.1, which is the seasonally adjusted version, not the raw number.
A representative for the Department of Labor said in an email statement to Local4, “The national rate, 4.1, is the seasonally adjusted rate, so it’s comparable to the 2.9 statewide rate.”
Nebraska Metro Year to Date unemployment rates(neworks)Metro areas
The city of Lincoln has seen ups and downs throughout the year, with a high of 3.3%, or roughly 5,400 people, unemployed in February, and a low of 2.4%, or 4,300 people, unemployed in April. The city now sits at a 2.6% unemployment rate, or roughly 4,552 people out of work.
Omaha’s high for the year was 3.8%, or just under 10,000 people, out of work. That number was at its lowest in May at 2.9%, or around 8,000 people, unemployed. The city is now at 3.1% unemployed, around 8,400 people.
Year to Date Tri-Cities unemployment rates.(neworks)Tri-Cities
Hall County saw a sharp decrease in January to 5.4% unemployed, close to 2,000 people out of work in the county. That number has been slowly ticking down, with 2.9% unemployed in July, now down to 2.7% in August, or just over 900 people unemployed.
Adams County saw its highest unemployment rate in January at 3.6%, around 618 people unemployed. That number has been up and down but is now down to 2.5%, or roughly 430 people out of work, down 0.5% from July.
Buffalo County’s unemployment rate also decreased, sitting at 2.5%, down from this year’s July high of 2.8%, with roughly 735 people unemployed.
Lincoln County Year to Date Unemployment Rates.(neworks)North Platte
Lincoln County saw a jump in unemployment to around 550 people in June, and that number has slowly been going down since. The current rate is 2.5% unemployed, about 467 people.
Year to Date Dawson County unemployment rates.(neworks)Dawson County
Dawson County has been affected since the closure of Lexington’s Tyson meat processing plant in January. That closure raised the county’s unemployment rate to around one in five individuals residing in the county unemployed.
Those numbers have changed over the past few months. After an uptick to 18.8% in July, the rate is now down to 16.4%, or roughly 2,000 people out of work.
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