Nonmetro Nebraska's low unemployment masks a shrinking workforce.
2.9%
Nebraska unemployment rate
Unchanged from July 2026 and from August 2025
69.3%
Labor force participation
Down from 69.4% prior month, 0.8pt YoY decline
<1.5
Openings-to-unemployed ratio
Down from nearly 4.0 in 2022
29,000 jobs
National September payroll growth
Well below 45,000 12-month average
This Month's Takeaways
01
Nonmetro Nebraska's tight labor market is a supply story, not a boom.
Participation fell to 69.3% even as unemployment sits near historic lows, and the openings-to-unemployed ratio has collapsed from nearly 4 to under 1.5 since 2022. Low unemployment here reflects fewer available workers more than surging demand.
02
Manufacturing and construction pay gains outpace the metro's white-collar categories.
Manufacturing production/assembler pay rose significantly and construction labor pay rose moderately locally, while HR generalist pay fell significantly and business analyst pay fell moderately. Divergence points to localized goods-sector strength against softer administrative and professional-services demand.
03
Healthcare wage growth looks structural, not a one-month blip.
Registered nurse pay rose significantly both locally ($110,656) and nationally, tracking a statewide pattern where healthcare and social assistance led job growth by percentage (4.5% year-over-year). Persistent shortages in healthcare and education, noted by state workforce data, suggest this pressure continues regardless of broader cooling.
04
National payroll deceleration has not yet shown up in nonmetro Nebraska's numbers.
National September payrolls added just 29,000 jobs with downward revisions to prior months, while Nebraska's unemployment held flat at 2.9% through August. Local data lag means this metro's economy may be cooling in ways not yet visible in the available releases.
Local Economic Conditions
Nebraska's nonmetropolitan labor market is tracking the statewide pattern of historically low unemployment alongside clear structural cooling: the 2.9% August rate holds near record lows even as labor force participation slipped to 69.3% and the job openings-to-unemployed ratio fell to fewer than 1.5, down from nearly 4 in 2022. Sector momentum in this metro appears concentrated in manufacturing production (advertised pay up significantly), construction, and warehouse/fulfillment roles, consistent with statewide gains in healthcare, professional services, and utilities while white-collar administrative and HR-adjacent categories show local pay declines.
Open Threads in the Data
Rural and nonmetro Nebraska's tight labor supply — fewer than 1.5 openings per unemployed worker and falling participation — suggests capacity constraints are now a demand-side story as much as a hiring story, meaning local expansion plans may face real execution limits regardless of balance-sheet readiness. Commerce leaders evaluating local investment or facility decisions should weigh that manufacturing and construction wages are rising locally even as white-collar categories like HR, business analysis, and customer service soften, pointing to a bifurcated local economy rather than a uniformly tight or loose one. Consider reviewing which sectors in the local basket show genuine pay momentum versus stagnation before assuming broad-based economic heat.
Advertised Pay Indicators · WageScape Benchmark 25 Jobs
Job postings data for the NE NONMETROPOLITAN AREA metro — median advertised pay, its recent trend, and the number of active postings behind each figure. Jobs are grouped for readability and are not the same as the 10 sector classifications on the next page. For additional job detail contact WageScape.
Retail Trade
| Retail Sales Associate |
$27,860 |
→ Stable |
3,724 |
| Retail Cashier |
$31,200 |
↑ Moderate increase |
1,116 |
Transportation & Warehousing
| Warehouse/Fulfillment Associate |
$39,520 |
↑ Moderate increase |
790 |
| CDL Truck Driver |
$77,015 |
→ Stable |
12,250 |
| Delivery Driver |
$30,956 |
↓ Moderate decline |
4,367 |
| Warehouse Manager |
— |
Limited local postings |
— |
Construction
| Construction Laborer |
$41,600 |
↑ Moderate increase |
355 |
Construction/Skilled Trades
| Electrician |
$71,869 |
↑ Moderate increase |
910 |
| HVAC Technician |
$63,281 |
→ Stable |
146 |
Manufacturing
| Manufacturing Production Worker/Assembler |
$41,600 |
↑ Significant increase |
828 |
Cross-Sector
| Customer Service Representative |
$35,528 |
↓ Moderate decline |
940 |
| Operations Manager |
$88,654 |
↑ Moderate increase |
57 |
Leisure & Hospitality
| Food Service Worker |
$33,610 |
↓ Moderate decline |
251 |
Healthcare
| Certified Nursing Assistant / Home Health Aide |
$42,640 |
→ Stable |
4,937 |
| Registered Nurse |
$110,656 |
↑ Significant increase |
12,006 |
Admin/Office Support
| Administrative Assistant/Office Clerk |
$38,339 |
→ Stable |
641 |
Information/Technology
| Software Engineer |
$136,015 |
→ Stable |
759 |
| Data Engineer |
$132,338 |
→ Stable |
231 |
Professional & Business Services
| Accountant |
$61,055 |
→ Stable |
384 |
| HR Generalist/Manager |
$51,872 |
↓ Significant decline |
83 |
| Marketing Specialist |
$63,760 |
↑ Significant increase |
74 |
| Business Analyst |
$94,004 |
↓ Moderate decline |
206 |
Finance & Insurance
| Financial Analyst |
$100,291 |
→ Stable |
192 |
Government/Education
| Elementary/Secondary School Teacher |
$46,654 |
↑ Moderate increase |
1,798 |
Cross-Sector Sales
| Account Manager |
$94,511 |
↑ Moderate increase |
554 |
Industry Snapshot · NE NONMETROPOLITAN AREA
Advertised pay and job-posting trends across the whole metro economy, rolled up by employer industry — not just the bellwether roles above.
| Sector |
Median Pay Change |
Job Postings Change |
| Construction |
↓ −15.6% |
↑ +13.1% |
| Manufacturing |
↑ +18.1% |
↓ −36.3% |
| Retail Trade |
↑ +24.1% |
↑ +3.4% |
| Transportation, Warehousing & Utilities |
→ +1.7% |
↑ +21.8% |
| Information |
→ +1.8% |
↓ −62.3% |
| Financial Activities |
↑ +20.7% |
→ +2.1% |
| Professional & Business Services |
↑ +11.5% |
↑ +30.7% |
| Education & Health Services |
↑ +12.0% |
↑ +24.1% |
| Leisure & Hospitality |
→ −1.4% |
↓ −8.3% |
| Government |
↑ +17.1% |
↓ −33.5% |
Looking Ahead · Next 30–60 Days
Reporting gap
Official BLS metro-level data for this nonmetropolitan area has not yet been published for September and typically lags by several months. Commerce leaders relying on real-time reads should treat current figures as a June–August baseline, not a live signal.
Emerging pressure point
Labor force participation has declined 0.8 percentage points year-over-year even as the state ranks 2nd nationally on this measure. Watch whether rural outmigration or retirement-driven exits accelerate, which would tighten the labor supply further regardless of local demand conditions.
Policy to monitor
Nebraska's minimum wage rises to $15.26 on January 1, 2027, with future increases locked to a fixed 1.75% annual rate rather than CPI, a change from the 2022 ballot measure. This is a bare fact relevant to cost planning for retail, food service, and hospitality employers in the local basket, independent of any partisan framing.
Worth watching
Nebraska's new state WARN Act (effective July 17, 2026) requires 90-day notice for layoffs affecting 100+ workers, a lower threshold for transparency than federal law. Watch whether any nonmetro-area notices surface in coming months as an early signal of localized sector stress.
Sources & Methodology
Pay and hiring data provided by WageScape. See every source cited in this report, with links →
Advertised pay reflects the pay ranges employers publish in active job postings in this metro, not survey or payroll data. Pay trends compare the current period with the prior period for the same metro and role. Sector figures group postings by the employer's industry classification; sectors with limited classified postings are marked as such rather than estimated. This briefing is independent of, and complements, official statistics from the BLS and state labor market information offices.
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