LINCOLN – Today, Governor Pete Ricketts issued a statement following the news that Nebraska’s unemployment rate ranked best in the nation. In May, Nebraska’s unemployment rate decreased to 5.2% from 8.7% in April.
“Today’s announcement that Nebraska now has the lowest unemployment rate in the nation is good news for small businesses and hardworking families who have already returned to work,” said Governor Ricketts. “While there is much left to do to get Nebraskans back to work, this data shows that Nebraska is open for business and that people are getting back to a more normal life while protecting our hospital system.”
The US unemployment rate dropped to 13.3 percent in May 2020 from 14.7% in April. This is the largest percentage in records since 1939 and below market expectations of 19.8 percent, as the economy gradually reopened. The number of unemployed persons is now 21.0 million after falling 2.1 million in May. Those who were on temporary layoff decreased by 2.7 million. The overall number is now 15.3 million.
Those who lost permanent jobs increased by 295,000 to 2.3 million. Those who are employed raised by 3.8 million to 137.2 million and the rate of labor force participation increased to 60.8 percent. In April the rate of labor force participation had hit its lowest level ever since January 1973. Since February, the unemployment rate was up by 9.8 percentage points and the number of unemployed persons increased by 15.2 million.
