LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) - Nebraska’s preliminary unemployment rate inched up a tenth of a point to 3.6 percent in February, a state report said Friday.
The rate is four-tenths of a point lower the 4 percent Nebraska posted in February 2013, the state Labor Department said. The new Nebraska figure remained well below the national unemployment rate of 6.7 percent in February.
The report said there were 1,025,693 people in the state labor force last month, compared with 1,022,764 in January. The number of unemployed rose to 36,778 from 36,277 in January. The number of people with Nebraska jobs in February climbed to 988,915, compared with 986,487 in January. In February 2013 the number of employed was 988,611, the state report said.
Nebraska’s nonfarm employment rose to 971,930, an increase of 4,865 from January.
In Omaha the preliminary unemployment rate dropped to 4.5 percent from the revised rate of 4.6 percent in January. The rate was 4.6 percent in February 2013. Lincoln’s February rate was unchanged from January: 3.7 percent. That’s a tenth of a point under the February 2013 rate of 3.8 percent.
The unemployment rates for Lincoln and Omaha are not seasonally adjusted, so they cannot be directly compared to the state unemployment rate.
Here are preliminary area labor market unemployment rates for February, followed by the revised January rates:
-Beatrice: 4.7, 4.3
-Columbus: 3.5, 3.4
-Fremont: 4.4, 4.4
-Grand Island: 3.9, 3.8
-Hastings: 4.1, 4.1
-Kearney: 3.3, 3.3
-Lexington: 4.6, 4.7
-Norfolk: 4.0, 3.9
-North Platte: 3.5, 3.5
-Red Willow: 3.3, 3.3
-Scotts Bluff: 4.3, 4.1
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Online:
Nebraska Department of Labor: https://www.dol.nebraska.gov
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