Counties with the highest unemployment in Nebraska
Despite a relatively low unemployment rate just shy of 4%, as compared to the COVID-19 pandemic peak of 14.7% in April 2020, the fear of job losses remains amid ongoing economic uncertainty.
Stacker compiled a list of counties with the highest unemployment rates in Nebraska using Bureau of Labor Statistics data. Counties are ranked by their preliminary unemployment rate in April 2024, with initial ties broken by the number of unemployed people within that county, though some ties may remain. County-level unemployment rates are not seasonally adjusted.
Economists forecast a waning risk of recession and predict that the U.S. may instead be headed for an incremental slowdown in growth known as a "soft landing." Still, layoffs among major U.S. employers like Amazon to Tesla have sparked concern among Americans. What's more, unemployment has spiked in nearly half the country's states, which often indicates a looming recession, an economist told Business Insider. And with sky-high prices after a period of record inflation, savings and unemployment payments may not cover basic expenses for jobless Americans for long.
For comparison, the Great Recession of 2007-09 sent unemployment rates up to 10% as of October 2009, and a full recovery took years.
Still, as of April 2024, the national unemployment rate remains relatively low at 3.9%—little changed from the previous month. Regional and state employment varies widely depending on local economies. Seasonally adjusted unemployment rates by state vary, ranging from just 2% in North Dakota to 5.3% in California.
Read on to see the counties with the highest unemployment in Nebraska.
#50. Wayne County
- April unemployment rate (preliminary): 1.8%
--- 1-month change: Down 0.2 percentage points
--- 1-year change: Up 0.1 percentage points
- Total labor force: 5,736 people (101 unemployed)
#49. Platte County
- April unemployment rate (preliminary): 1.8%
--- 1-month change: Down 0.3 percentage points
--- 1-year change: Up 0.2 percentage points
- Total labor force: 17,981 people (317 unemployed)
#48. Sheridan County
- April unemployment rate (preliminary): 1.9%
--- 1-month change: Down 0.2 percentage points
--- 1-year change: Down 0.5 percentage points
- Total labor force: 2,684 people (50 unemployed)
#47. Keith County
- April unemployment rate (preliminary): 1.9%
--- 1-month change: Down 0.3 percentage points
--- 1-year change: Up 0.3 percentage points
- Total labor force: 4,437 people (83 unemployed)
#46. Knox County
- April unemployment rate (preliminary): 1.9%
--- 1-month change: Down 0.6 percentage points
--- 1-year change: Up 0.4 percentage points
- Total labor force: 4,444 people (86 unemployed)
#45. York County
- April unemployment rate (preliminary): 1.9%
--- 1-month change: Down 0.1 percentage points
--- 1-year change: Down 0.1 percentage points
- Total labor force: 7,338 people (138 unemployed)
#44. Otoe County
- April unemployment rate (preliminary): 1.9%
--- 1-month change: Down 0.4 percentage points
--- 1-year change: Up 0.2 percentage points
- Total labor force: 8,323 people (154 unemployed)
#43. Saunders County
- April unemployment rate (preliminary): 1.9%
--- 1-month change: Down 0.3 percentage points
--- 1-year change: Up 0.4 percentage points
- Total labor force: 11,473 people (214 unemployed)
#42. Washington County
- April unemployment rate (preliminary): 1.9%
--- 1-month change: Down 0.4 percentage points
--- 1-year change: Up 0.1 percentage points
- Total labor force: 11,486 people (216 unemployed)
#40. Greeley County (tie)
- April unemployment rate (preliminary): 2.0%
--- 1-month change: Up 0.1 percentage points
--- 1-year change: Up 0.3 percentage points
- Total labor force: 1,170 people (23 unemployed)
#40. Gosper County (tie)
- April unemployment rate (preliminary): 2.0%
--- 1-month change: Down 0.3 percentage points
--- 1-year change: Up 0.2 percentage points
- Total labor force: 1,123 people (23 unemployed)
#39. Pawnee County
- April unemployment rate (preliminary): 2.0%
--- 1-month change: Down 0.7 percentage points
--- 1-year change: Up 0.2 percentage points
- Total labor force: 1,473 people (30 unemployed)
#38. Howard County
- April unemployment rate (preliminary): 2.0%
--- 1-month change: Down 0.2 percentage points
--- 1-year change: Up 0.3 percentage points
- Total labor force: 3,537 people (70 unemployed)
#37. Adams County
- April unemployment rate (preliminary): 2.0%
--- 1-month change: Down 0.3 percentage points
--- 1-year change: Up 0.3 percentage points
- Total labor force: 17,239 people (350 unemployed)
#36. Deuel County
- April unemployment rate (preliminary): 2.1%
--- 1-month change: Down 0.4 percentage points
--- 1-year change: Down 0.1 percentage points
- Total labor force: 944 people (20 unemployed)
#35. Webster County
- April unemployment rate (preliminary): 2.1%
--- 1-month change: Down 0.6 percentage points
--- 1-year change: Down 0.3 percentage points
- Total labor force: 1,640 people (35 unemployed)
#34. Clay County
- April unemployment rate (preliminary): 2.1%
--- 1-month change: Down 0.8 percentage points
--- 1-year change: Up 0.2 percentage points
- Total labor force: 3,044 people (63 unemployed)
#33. Richardson County
- April unemployment rate (preliminary): 2.1%
--- 1-month change: Down 0.8 percentage points
--- 1-year change: Up 0.5 percentage points
- Total labor force: 3,978 people (83 unemployed)
#32. Colfax County
- April unemployment rate (preliminary): 2.1%
--- 1-month change: Down 0.1 percentage points
--- 1-year change: Up 0.5 percentage points
- Total labor force: 5,674 people (118 unemployed)
#31. Lancaster County
- April unemployment rate (preliminary): 2.1%
--- 1-month change: Down 0.2 percentage points
--- 1-year change: Up 0.3 percentage points
- Total labor force: 183,615 people (3,821 unemployed)
#30. Brown County
- April unemployment rate (preliminary): 2.2%
--- 1-month change: Down 0.2 percentage points
--- 1-year change: Up 0.2 percentage points
- Total labor force: 1,357 people (30 unemployed)
#29. Saline County
- April unemployment rate (preliminary): 2.2%
--- 1-month change: Down 1.3 percentage points
--- 1-year change: No change
- Total labor force: 7,177 people (159 unemployed)
#28. Lincoln County
- April unemployment rate (preliminary): 2.2%
--- 1-month change: Down 0.1 percentage points
--- 1-year change: Up 0.5 percentage points
- Total labor force: 17,850 people (395 unemployed)
#27. Dodge County
- April unemployment rate (preliminary): 2.2%
--- 1-month change: Down 0.3 percentage points
--- 1-year change: Up 0.4 percentage points
- Total labor force: 20,662 people (451 unemployed)
#26. Burt County
- April unemployment rate (preliminary): 2.3%
--- 1-month change: Down 0.4 percentage points
--- 1-year change: Up 0.1 percentage points
- Total labor force: 3,497 people (81 unemployed)
#25. Nemaha County
- April unemployment rate (preliminary): 2.3%
--- 1-month change: Down 0.1 percentage points
--- 1-year change: Up 0.6 percentage points
- Total labor force: 3,565 people (83 unemployed)
#24. Cheyenne County
- April unemployment rate (preliminary): 2.3%
--- 1-month change: Down 0.2 percentage points
--- 1-year change: Up 0.2 percentage points
- Total labor force: 4,061 people (93 unemployed)
#23. Arthur County
- April unemployment rate (preliminary): 2.4%
--- 1-month change: Down 0.5 percentage points
--- 1-year change: No change
- Total labor force: 211 people (5 unemployed)
#22. McPherson County
- April unemployment rate (preliminary): 2.4%
--- 1-month change: Up 0.7 percentage points
--- 1-year change: Up 0.3 percentage points
- Total labor force: 410 people (10 unemployed)
#21. Keya Paha County
- April unemployment rate (preliminary): 2.4%
--- 1-month change: Up 0.4 percentage points
--- 1-year change: Up 0.3 percentage points
- Total labor force: 548 people (13 unemployed)
#20. Franklin County
- April unemployment rate (preliminary): 2.4%
--- 1-month change: Down 0.3 percentage points
--- 1-year change: Up 0.6 percentage points
- Total labor force: 1,482 people (35 unemployed)
#19. Dakota County
- April unemployment rate (preliminary): 2.4%
--- 1-month change: Down 0.8 percentage points
--- 1-year change: Up 0.1 percentage points
- Total labor force: 10,883 people (262 unemployed)
#18. Dawson County
- April unemployment rate (preliminary): 2.4%
--- 1-month change: Down 0.2 percentage points
--- 1-year change: Down 0.1 percentage points
- Total labor force: 13,252 people (312 unemployed)
#17. Hall County
- April unemployment rate (preliminary): 2.4%
--- 1-month change: Down 0.3 percentage points
--- 1-year change: Up 0.4 percentage points
- Total labor force: 33,671 people (813 unemployed)
#16. Sarpy County
- April unemployment rate (preliminary): 2.4%
--- 1-month change: Down 0.2 percentage points
--- 1-year change: Up 0.5 percentage points
- Total labor force: 100,594 people (2,442 unemployed)
#15. Thomas County
- April unemployment rate (preliminary): 2.5%
--- 1-month change: Up 0.2 percentage points
--- 1-year change: Down 1.4 percentage points
- Total labor force: 400 people (10 unemployed)
#14. Boyd County
- April unemployment rate (preliminary): 2.5%
--- 1-month change: Down 1.0 percentage points
--- 1-year change: Up 0.9 percentage points
- Total labor force: 1,001 people (25 unemployed)
#13. Johnson County
- April unemployment rate (preliminary): 2.5%
--- 1-month change: Down 1.6 percentage points
--- 1-year change: Up 0.1 percentage points
- Total labor force: 1,936 people (48 unemployed)
#12. Gage County
- April unemployment rate (preliminary): 2.6%
--- 1-month change: Down 2.7 percentage points
--- 1-year change: Up 0.7 percentage points
- Total labor force: 10,818 people (277 unemployed)
#11. Cass County
- April unemployment rate (preliminary): 2.6%
--- 1-month change: Down 0.2 percentage points
--- 1-year change: Up 0.6 percentage points
- Total labor force: 13,711 people (352 unemployed)
#10. Loup County
- April unemployment rate (preliminary): 2.7%
--- 1-month change: Down 0.9 percentage points
--- 1-year change: Up 0.3 percentage points
- Total labor force: 369 people (10 unemployed)
#9. Hitchcock County
- April unemployment rate (preliminary): 2.7%
--- 1-month change: Down 0.5 percentage points
--- 1-year change: Up 0.2 percentage points
- Total labor force: 1,228 people (33 unemployed)
#8. Dixon County
- April unemployment rate (preliminary): 2.7%
--- 1-month change: Down 0.2 percentage points
--- 1-year change: Up 1.0 percentage points
- Total labor force: 2,987 people (81 unemployed)
#7. Douglas County
- April unemployment rate (preliminary): 2.8%
--- 1-month change: Down 0.2 percentage points
--- 1-year change: Up 0.5 percentage points
- Total labor force: 308,503 people (8,771 unemployed)
#6. Scotts Bluff County
- April unemployment rate (preliminary): 2.9%
--- 1-month change: Down 0.1 percentage points
--- 1-year change: Up 0.5 percentage points
- Total labor force: 17,732 people (511 unemployed)
#5. Logan County
- April unemployment rate (preliminary): 3.4%
--- 1-month change: No change
--- 1-year change: Up 0.3 percentage points
- Total labor force: 441 people (15 unemployed)
#4. Box Butte County
- April unemployment rate (preliminary): 3.4%
--- 1-month change: Up 0.6 percentage points
--- 1-year change: Up 1.6 percentage points
- Total labor force: 5,238 people (179 unemployed)
#3. Banner County
- April unemployment rate (preliminary): 3.9%
--- 1-month change: Up 0.5 percentage points
--- 1-year change: Up 1.6 percentage points
- Total labor force: 389 people (15 unemployed)
#2. Blaine County
- April unemployment rate (preliminary): 4.1%
--- 1-month change: Down 0.6 percentage points
--- 1-year change: Up 0.5 percentage points
- Total labor force: 242 people (10 unemployed)
#1. Hooker County
- April unemployment rate (preliminary): 4.1%
--- 1-month change: Up 0.7 percentage points
--- 1-year change: Up 1.8 percentage points
- Total labor force: 319 people (13 unemployed)
This story features data reporting by Paxtyn Merten and is part of a series utilizing data automation across 50 states.
