LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) - Nebraska’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate for April jumped to 8.3%, more than double March’s 4% as the state saw businesses shuttered in the wake of the coronavirus outbreak.
The April rate was released Friday by the Nebraska Department of Labor.
Unemployment claims have risen to unprecedented levels in recent weeks, with more than 120,000 people in Nebraska filing for unemployment from March 8 and May 16. Thousands of people were laid off as nonessential businesses closed or scaled down amid the state’s efforts to slow the spread of the virus.
The national seasonally adjusted unemployment rate for April was 14.7%, a spike from the March rate of 4.4%. The April 2019 rate was 3.6%.
Nebraska’s nonfarm employment was 942,576 in April, a decline of 76,866 jobs over the month and 81,777 jobs over the year. The nonfarm employment level had not been below 943,000 since March 2011.
The preliminary Omaha-area unemployment rate for April was 10%, up from March’s 4.3%, the report said. The Lincoln-area preliminary rate rose to 9.3% from 3.7% in March, and the Grand Island-area rate shot to 11% from March’s 4.6%.
Unemployment rates for Grand Island, Lincoln and Omaha have not been seasonally adjusted and cannot be directly compared with the state unemployment rate.
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