Nebraska’s unemployment rate increased in March, but state labor officials said Friday that the statistic was a positive sign that more people are encouraged by the strengthening economy and have begun looking for work.
The state’s jobless rate now stands at 5 percent, up from 4.8 percent in February. About 1,500 people lost their jobs during the month, and Nebraska’s total number of unemployed stands at 49,138.
“This increase is generally attributed to people re-entering the labor force who previously were not seeking jobs,” Nebraska Labor Commissioner Cathy Lang said. “We’ve also seen an increase in the number of new job orders posted by employers in our Career Centers. The effect of these two factors is encouraging. It indicates Nebraskans are optimistic about jobs.”
People who are discouraged, or not actively seeking employment, aren’t included in the monthly unemployment rate. The number of discouraged workers is shrinking because more jobs are becoming available, said Terri Johnston, a Nebraska Labor Department spokeswoman.
The biggest growth areas were trade, transportation and utilities services, which added 2,253 jobs during March. Education and health services added 943 positions, and the leisure-and-hospitality sector had an increase of 910 jobs.
Iowa’s jobless figure was up slightly to 6.8 percent from 6.7 percent in February. The state added 7,300 jobs in the month, making it the third straight period of growth, said Elisabeth Buck, director of Iowa Workforce Development.
The number of people looking for work in Iowa increased 3,300 during March to 114,600.
Last year at this time, both states had significantly lower unemployment rates. Nebraska’s was 4.5 percent; Iowa’s was 5.5 percent.
The national unemployment rate for March remained even with February’s at 9.7 percent.
The Omaha metropolitan area posted a jobless figure of 5.9 percent. That number is not seasonally adjusted to consider weather and other changes, so it shouldn’t be compared to the statewide figures.
Of Omaha’s 447,782-person labor force, about 240 fewer Omahans were unemployed during March compared to February. A total of 26,206 people were out of work.
The number of people with jobs grew. About 421,600 people were working, 2,296 more than the previous month.
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