LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) - Nebraska's seasonally adjusted unemployment rate dropped in July compared to the previous month, but it was still higher than it was in July of last year.
The state's seasonally adjusted unemployment rate was 4.8% last month, compared to 5.5% in June, according to the Nebraska Department of Labor. The rate was 3.1% in July 2019.
Nebraska, which had the third-lowest rate of any state in June, now has the nation's second-lowest unemployment rate, behind Utah, which reported 4.5% unemployment. The national unemployment rate in July was 10.2%.
Unemployment claims surged in Nebraska and nationally as the coronavirus pandemic led to widespread social-distancing measures that forced businesses to close or scale back their operations.
Nebraska had 986,510 nonfarm jobs in July, an increase of 6,427 over the previous month but 40,112 less over the year.
Nebraska Commissioner of Labor John Albin said the state saw a significant increase in non-farm-related employment from June to July, including in the health care, leisure and hospitality industries.
The preliminary Omaha-area unemployment rate for July was 5.9%, which was down from June's 6.9%, the report said. The Lincoln-area preliminary rate declined to 5% from 5.7% in that time frame, and the Grand Island-area rate dropped to 5.4% from 6.2% in June.
Unemployment rates for Grand Island, Lincoln and Omaha have not been seasonally adjusted and cannot be directly compared with the state unemployment rate.
Nebraska's unemployment in June was originally reported at 6.7%, but that percentage was later revised to 5.5% because of changes in the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics adjusts the data.