Counties with the highest unemployment in Nebraska

The first jobs report under the new Trump administration showed a stable job market, with the unemployment rate ticking down from 4.1% to 4% in January, the lowest since last May, according to Bureau of Labor Statistics figures released Feb. 7.

The report marks 49 consecutive months of overall job growth, the second-longest recorded period since 1939.

Job losses that did occur were concentrated in the mining, quarrying, and oil and gas extraction industries, which declined by 8,000 jobs over the month. There was little change in employment in other major industries.

To get a glimpse of regional variations in employment, Stacker compiled a list of counties with the highest unemployment rates Nebraska, using BLS data. Counties are ranked by their preliminary unemployment rate in December 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.

Key takeaways: Jobs report reveals cooling labor market

January's job growth of 143,000 fell short of expectations, while the downward revision of 589,000 fewer jobs in 2024 suggests the labor market was weaker last year than initially thought.

Business leaders are starting to display more caution, with 67% of executives reporting higher stress levels heading into 2025, according to a survey of 1,000 executives by Sentry, a business insurance company. Among survey respondents, 47% citing economic uncertainty as their biggest concern.

"We have what I would describe as a robust but frozen labor market," Gregory Daco, chief economist at EY-Parthenon, told The New York Times, noting that while unemployment remains low, there's very little churn or employee turnover as "businesses are being cautious as to how they manage their work force."

Moody's Analytics projects monthly payroll gains could slow to around 100,000 by year-end.

The big story: Potential for economic headwinds grows

Behind the "Now Hiring" signs and modest unemployment rate, there's growing concern on Main Street that the economy might be more fragile than it appears.

"You've already got companies hiring as if they're in a recession—even if they're not laying people off," Oliver Allen, senior U.S. economist at Pantheon Macroeconomics, told CNN. Average unemployment duration, a lagging indicator, rose from 20.8 weeks in January 2024 to 22 in January of this year.

Tightening trade regulations and federal trimming could also have an impact on the job market. Experts predict the U.S. gross domestic product could take a hit due to increased tariffs. The U.S. government is the country's largest employer and contributes 36% to the GDP.

Sudden cuts to federal spending advocated by the new administration could hit the economy hard. One example of the potential fallout is that if prices were to increase further due to higher tariffs, consumer purchasing power would decline, stymieing economic growth.

Whether the effects of slashing the workforce and the budget will be exceeded by Trump's plans to loosen business regulations and cut taxes remains to be seen.

To get a better idea of your community's current economy, read on to see the counties with the highest unemployment in Nebraska.

40. Dixon County (tie)

December unemployment rate (preliminary): 2.4%
--- 1-month change: -0.2 percentage points
--- 1-year change: +0.3 percentage points
- Total labor force: 2,952 people (71 unemployed)

40. Seward County (tie)

December unemployment rate (preliminary): 2.4%
--- 1-month change: -0.1 percentage points
--- 1-year change: +0.3 percentage points
- Total labor force: 9,009 people (212 unemployed)

40. Dawes County (tie)

December unemployment rate (preliminary): 2.4%
--- 1-month change: -0.4 percentage points
--- 1-year change: +0.4 percentage points
- Total labor force: 4,871 people (116 unemployed)

40. Sheridan County (tie)

December unemployment rate (preliminary): 2.4%
--- 1-month change: -0.1 percentage points
--- 1-year change: +0.6 percentage points
- Total labor force: 2,630 people (62 unemployed)

40. Lancaster County (tie)

December unemployment rate (preliminary): 2.4%
--- 1-month change: -0.2 percentage points
--- 1-year change: +0.3 percentage points
- Total labor force: 184,937 people (4,398 unemployed)

40. Morrill County (tie)

December unemployment rate (preliminary): 2.4%
--- 1-month change: 0.0 percentage points
--- 1-year change: +0.2 percentage points
- Total labor force: 2,611 people (63 unemployed)

40. Colfax County (tie)

December unemployment rate (preliminary): 2.4%
--- 1-month change: -0.3 percentage points
--- 1-year change: +0.6 percentage points
- Total labor force: 5,748 people (138 unemployed)

40. Otoe County (tie)

December unemployment rate (preliminary): 2.4%
--- 1-month change: -0.3 percentage points
--- 1-year change: +0.5 percentage points
- Total labor force: 8,360 people (203 unemployed)

40. Lincoln County (tie)

December unemployment rate (preliminary): 2.4%
--- 1-month change: -0.2 percentage points
--- 1-year change: +0.2 percentage points
- Total labor force: 17,727 people (434 unemployed)

40. Kimball County (tie)

December unemployment rate (preliminary): 2.4%
--- 1-month change: +0.1 percentage points
--- 1-year change: +0.3 percentage points
- Total labor force: 2,041 people (48 unemployed)

40. Platte County (tie)

December unemployment rate (preliminary): 2.4%
--- 1-month change: -0.1 percentage points
--- 1-year change: +0.5 percentage points
- Total labor force: 18,222 people (441 unemployed)

33. Sherman County (tie)

December unemployment rate (preliminary): 2.5%
--- 1-month change: -0.3 percentage points
--- 1-year change: +0.5 percentage points
- Total labor force: 1,612 people (40 unemployed)

33. Richardson County (tie)

December unemployment rate (preliminary): 2.5%
--- 1-month change: -0.5 percentage points
--- 1-year change: +0.3 percentage points
- Total labor force: 3,941 people (98 unemployed)

33. Sioux County (tie)

December unemployment rate (preliminary): 2.5%
--- 1-month change: +0.2 percentage points
--- 1-year change: +0.4 percentage points
- Total labor force: 734 people (18 unemployed)

33. Dawson County (tie)

December unemployment rate (preliminary): 2.5%
--- 1-month change: -0.1 percentage points
--- 1-year change: +0.2 percentage points
- Total labor force: 13,209 people (332 unemployed)

33. Grant County (tie)

December unemployment rate (preliminary): 2.5%
--- 1-month change: -0.3 percentage points
--- 1-year change: +0.7 percentage points
- Total labor force: 407 people (10 unemployed)

33. Dodge County (tie)

December unemployment rate (preliminary): 2.5%
--- 1-month change: 0.0 percentage points
--- 1-year change: +0.4 percentage points
- Total labor force: 20,488 people (516 unemployed)

33. Furnas County (tie)

December unemployment rate (preliminary): 2.5%
--- 1-month change: -0.3 percentage points
--- 1-year change: +0.7 percentage points
- Total labor force: 2,444 people (62 unemployed)

29. Webster County (tie)

December unemployment rate (preliminary): 2.6%
--- 1-month change: -0.4 percentage points
--- 1-year change: -0.1 percentage points
- Total labor force: 1,634 people (43 unemployed)

29. Thurston County (tie)

December unemployment rate (preliminary): 2.6%
--- 1-month change: -0.4 percentage points
--- 1-year change: 0.0 percentage points
- Total labor force: 3,293 people (85 unemployed)

29. Frontier County (tie)

December unemployment rate (preliminary): 2.6%
--- 1-month change: -0.1 percentage points
--- 1-year change: +0.7 percentage points
- Total labor force: 1,520 people (40 unemployed)

29. Sarpy County (tie)

December unemployment rate (preliminary): 2.6%
--- 1-month change: -0.1 percentage points
--- 1-year change: +0.4 percentage points
- Total labor force: 100,789 people (2,633 unemployed)

22. Adams County (tie)

December unemployment rate (preliminary): 2.7%
--- 1-month change: +0.1 percentage points
--- 1-year change: +0.5 percentage points
- Total labor force: 16,955 people (451 unemployed)

22. Garden County (tie)

December unemployment rate (preliminary): 2.7%
--- 1-month change: -0.3 percentage points
--- 1-year change: +0.8 percentage points
- Total labor force: 1,033 people (28 unemployed)

22. Garfield County (tie)

December unemployment rate (preliminary): 2.7%
--- 1-month change: 0.0 percentage points
--- 1-year change: +1.0 percentage points
- Total labor force: 1,087 people (29 unemployed)

22. Brown County (tie)

December unemployment rate (preliminary): 2.7%
--- 1-month change: -0.1 percentage points
--- 1-year change: +0.2 percentage points
- Total labor force: 1,358 people (37 unemployed)

22. Clay County (tie)

December unemployment rate (preliminary): 2.7%
--- 1-month change: +0.2 percentage points
--- 1-year change: 0.0 percentage points
- Total labor force: 3,017 people (81 unemployed)

22. Gage County (tie)

December unemployment rate (preliminary): 2.7%
--- 1-month change: -0.2 percentage points
--- 1-year change: +0.4 percentage points
- Total labor force: 10,771 people (288 unemployed)

22. Knox County (tie)

December unemployment rate (preliminary): 2.7%
--- 1-month change: +0.2 percentage points
--- 1-year change: +0.1 percentage points
- Total labor force: 4,488 people (121 unemployed)

17. Arthur County (tie)

December unemployment rate (preliminary): 2.8%
--- 1-month change: -0.5 percentage points
--- 1-year change: +0.5 percentage points
- Total labor force: 217 people (6 unemployed)

17. Box Butte County (tie)

December unemployment rate (preliminary): 2.8%
--- 1-month change: 0.0 percentage points
--- 1-year change: +0.5 percentage points
- Total labor force: 5,250 people (147 unemployed)

17. Burt County (tie)

December unemployment rate (preliminary): 2.8%
--- 1-month change: +0.3 percentage points
--- 1-year change: +0.5 percentage points
- Total labor force: 3,455 people (96 unemployed)

17. Cheyenne County (tie)

December unemployment rate (preliminary): 2.8%
--- 1-month change: -0.2 percentage points
--- 1-year change: +0.4 percentage points
- Total labor force: 4,158 people (115 unemployed)

17. Cass County (tie)

December unemployment rate (preliminary): 2.8%
--- 1-month change: -0.1 percentage points
--- 1-year change: +0.6 percentage points
- Total labor force: 13,749 people (386 unemployed)

10. Nemaha County (tie)

December unemployment rate (preliminary): 2.9%
--- 1-month change: -0.2 percentage points
--- 1-year change: +0.6 percentage points
- Total labor force: 3,526 people (101 unemployed)

10. Boyd County (tie)

December unemployment rate (preliminary): 2.9%
--- 1-month change: +0.2 percentage points
--- 1-year change: +0.2 percentage points
- Total labor force: 1,000 people (29 unemployed)

10. Logan County (tie)

December unemployment rate (preliminary): 2.9%
--- 1-month change: +0.1 percentage points
--- 1-year change: +0.4 percentage points
- Total labor force: 441 people (13 unemployed)

10. Scotts Bluff County (tie)

December unemployment rate (preliminary): 2.9%
--- 1-month change: 0.0 percentage points
--- 1-year change: +0.3 percentage points
- Total labor force: 17,551 people (508 unemployed)

10. Saline County (tie)

December unemployment rate (preliminary): 2.9%
--- 1-month change: +0.2 percentage points
--- 1-year change: +0.6 percentage points
- Total labor force: 7,135 people (209 unemployed)

10. Greeley County (tie)

December unemployment rate (preliminary): 2.9%
--- 1-month change: +0.3 percentage points
--- 1-year change: +0.6 percentage points
- Total labor force: 1,186 people (34 unemployed)

10. Douglas County (tie)

December unemployment rate (preliminary): 2.9%
--- 1-month change: 0.0 percentage points
--- 1-year change: +0.4 percentage points
- Total labor force: 308,676 people (8,966 unemployed)

8. Hooker County (tie)

December unemployment rate (preliminary): 3.1%
--- 1-month change: 0.0 percentage points
--- 1-year change: -0.3 percentage points
- Total labor force: 320 people (10 unemployed)

8. Hitchcock County (tie)

December unemployment rate (preliminary): 3.1%
--- 1-month change: -0.2 percentage points
--- 1-year change: +0.3 percentage points
- Total labor force: 1,225 people (38 unemployed)

6. Dakota County (tie)

December unemployment rate (preliminary): 3.2%
--- 1-month change: +0.3 percentage points
--- 1-year change: +0.7 percentage points
- Total labor force: 10,822 people (350 unemployed)

6. Hall County (tie)

December unemployment rate (preliminary): 3.2%
--- 1-month change: +0.4 percentage points
--- 1-year change: +0.8 percentage points
- Total labor force: 33,867 people (1,085 unemployed)

5. Johnson County

December unemployment rate (preliminary): 3.3%
--- 1-month change: -0.1 percentage points
--- 1-year change: +0.8 percentage points
- Total labor force: 1,961 people (65 unemployed)

3. Loup County (tie)

December unemployment rate (preliminary): 3.4%
--- 1-month change: -0.1 percentage points
--- 1-year change: +0.6 percentage points
- Total labor force: 384 people (13 unemployed)

3. Banner County (tie)

December unemployment rate (preliminary): 3.4%
--- 1-month change: +0.2 percentage points
--- 1-year change: -0.5 percentage points
- Total labor force: 387 people (13 unemployed)

2. Blaine County

December unemployment rate (preliminary): 3.8%
--- 1-month change: -0.1 percentage points
--- 1-year change: +0.9 percentage points
- Total labor force: 240 people (9 unemployed)

1. Thomas County

December unemployment rate (preliminary): 4.4%
--- 1-month change: +0.5 percentage points
--- 1-year change: +1.5 percentage points
- Total labor force: 411 people (18 unemployed)

This story features data reporting by Karim Noorani, writing by Ben Popken, and is part of a series utilizing data automation across 50 states.