Construction Employment Grows in July as Unemployment Rate Remains 2.9 Percent

State Unemployment Rate:
Nebraska’s preliminary unemployment rate for July 2026 is 2.9 percent, seasonally adjusted. The rate is unchanged from the June 2026 unemployment rate and the same as the July 2025 rate.

The national seasonally adjusted unemployment rate for July 2026 is 4.1 percent, down 0.1 percent from the June 2026 unemployment rate and down 0.2 percent from the July 2025 unemployment rate.  National unemployment rate rankings are available here.

Construction Growth:
“Mining and construction employment reached another all-time high in July, marking three consecutive months of record employment,” said Commissioner of Labor Katie Thurber. “Statewide employment in the industry reached 71,487.”

The three major construction sectors added a combined 435 jobs over the month. Construction of buildings led to the increase with 192 jobs, followed by heavy and civil engineering with 144 and specialty trade contractors with 99. Omaha’s growth was driven primarily by specialty trade contractors, while building construction and heavy and civil engineering accounted for most of the gains in Lincoln and the rest of the state.

Mining and Construction Employment | July 2025-July 2026
 
Total nonfarm employment was 1,061,118 in July, down 10,442 over the month and up 727 over the year. The month-to-month decrease is a normal seasonal trend due to many education-related jobs being off for the summer. The largest over-the-year growth came from leisure and hospitality (up 5,410 jobs), private education and health services (up 3,459 jobs), and mining and construction (up 3,247).

Aside from mining and construction, private industries with the most over-the-month growth were professional and business services (up 741 jobs) and private education and health services (up 126 jobs).