State officials say Nebraska unemployment rate increased slightly to 5 percent in March

Nebraska jobless rate increases to 5 pct in March

LINCOLN, Neb. — Nebraska’s unemployment rate rose to 5 percent in March, an increase from 4.8 percent in February, state officials said in a report release Friday.

The state’s rate is a half percentage point higher than March last year but 4.7 percentage points lower than the national rate of 9.7 percent in March.

At 5 percent, Nebraska had the third-lowest rate in the nation, trailing North Dakota, 4 percent, and South Dakota, 4.8 percent.

The Nebraska report said three sectors of the Nebraska economy added jobs last month: trade, transportation and utilities services, up 2,253 jobs; education and health services, up 943 jobs; and leisure and hospitality, up 910 jobs.

Nebraska’s seasonally adjusted labor force included 987,913 people in March. Of those, 49,138 were listed as unemployed, which is 1,561 more than in February and 4,934 more than March 2009.

The state commissioner of labor, Catherine Lang, said in the release that the unemployment rate increase is generally attributed to people re-entering the labor force — people who recently had not been looking for work.

Lang also said employers have been posting more new job orders at the state’s Career Centers.

“The effect of these two factors is encouraging,” Lang said. “It indicates Nebraskans are optimistic about jobs.”

The unemployment rate for the state’s largest city, Omaha, remained steady at 5.9 percent in March. The rate was 5.2 percent in March last year.

The estimated unemployment rate in the capital city of Lincoln dropped to 4.9 percent in March from a revised 5 percent in February. In March 2009, the Lincoln rate was 4.6 percent.

Unemployment rates for Omaha and Lincoln are not seasonally adjusted and cannot be compared with the state unemployment rate.