Sources & References
Metro Job Market Pulse · Lincoln, NE MSA · October 2026
Every advertised-pay, job-posting and industry figure in this briefing comes from WageScape's own database of active job postings. The sources below back the external facts cited in the written analysis.
Sources cited in this report
Key Indicators
National nonfarm payrolls added 29,000 jobs in September 2026
Bureau of Labor Statistics — September 2026 employment situation report
This Month's Takeaways
Nebraska labor force participation fell to 69.3% in August 2026
Nebraska Department of Labor — August 2026 state labor force statistics
Healthcare and utilities wage growth of 4.5% and 9.3% statewide
Nebraska Department of Labor / NEworks — Sector wage growth data, September 2026
Local Economic Conditions
Lincoln unemployment rate at 2.6% in August 2026
KSNB/1011 Now — August 2026 Lincoln metro unemployment report
Lancaster County labor force reached record 299,500 in Q2 2026
Lincoln EDC Center for Regional Analysis — Q2 2026 Lancaster County data brief
Looking Ahead
Nebraska state WARN law (LB 921) took effect July 17, 2026
Nebraska Legislature — LB 921 WARN Act notice requirement
How the numbers are calculated
- Advertised pay is the median of the pay ranges employers publish in active job postings in this metro. It is not survey or payroll data.
- Percent changes compare the latest six full months with the six months before that, for the same metro and sector.
- Sectors group postings by the employer's industry (NAICS) classification into ten sectors. Where a metro has too few postings in a sector, the state figure is used instead.
- Role pay trends use the same comparison windows. "Stable" means a change of less than 3%; "moderate" 3–10%; "significant" more than 10%.
Official data for comparison