NextChapter

Nebraska jobs and job market: layoffs, colleges and workforce help

Nebraska’s unemployment rate is 2.9%. 1,099 open professional jobs are listed here. Employers filed 9 layoff notices in the last 12 months. Choose a county or city for the same picture closer to home.

Independent page. Not from or affiliated with the State of Nebraska.

Looking for work in Nebraska? See where you stand.

Not sure you match what employers here are hiring for? Get a free read on your fit, the jobs open near you and a plan for the weeks ahead.

Show me jobs near me

Nebraska economy

  • 2.9%

    unemployment, Sep 2026

    2.9% the month before

  • 1,095,378

    in the labor force

    Source: BLS Local Area Unemployment Statistics

  • 1,965,926

    people in Nebraska

    Source: U.S. Census Bureau

  • $74,985

    median household income

    Source: Census ACS

  • 41%

    of workers in white-collar occupations

    Management, business, financial and professional; Census ACS

Nebraska outlook: Steady

Built from public Bureau of Labor Statistics and Census figures. It describes the area, not any one employer in it.

  • Private-sector jobs up 2.8% from 2022 to 2025
  • Population up 2.8% from 2020 to 2025
  • Unemployment 2.5%, down 0.3 points from a year ago
  • Sectors adding the most jobs: health care (+14,548 jobs), hotels & food (+6,697 jobs)
  • Sectors losing the most jobs: admin & staffing (−4,858 jobs), finance & insurance (−4,495 jobs)

Local job-market news

Recent headlines about layoffs, AI and jobs in Nebraska. Each link goes to the publisher.

Learn and get funded in Nebraska

Nebraska layoffs

  • 9

    Layoff notices, last 12 months

  • 4,587

    workers named

    A floor: states may leave out counts

  • 8

    employers

Layoff notices filed in Nebraska, newest first
Notice dateEmployerCity or countyWorkersTypeSource
AlphiaPawnee City93—State record
FortrexMadison91—State record
Skylark Meats, LLCOmaha218—State record
ConduentConduent2—State record
WK Kellogg CoOmaha451—State record
Republic National Distributing CoLa Vista87—State record
Tyson Extension - LexingtonLexington294—State record
FortrexLexington139—State record
Tyson - LexingtonLexington3,212—State record

All layoff notices in the state

Get an email when a new notice is filed for Nebraska

One email a day at most, only when there is something new. No account needed.

Employers hiring most in Nebraska

Employers with the most open professional roles on our job board right now.

  1. Conagra Brands27 open roles
  2. Nelnet Servicing24 open roles
  3. General Dynamics OTS22 open roles
  4. Olsson19 open roles
  5. First National Bank of Omaha17 open roles
  6. Hudl16 open roles
  7. Nelnet14 open roles
  8. Zachry13 open roles
  9. Vetter Senior Living11 open roles
  10. Mortenson10 open roles
  11. GPAC9 open roles
  12. Green Plains9 open roles

Largest employers headquartered in Nebraska

Employee counts with a year are published figures (Wikidata). Other sizes are estimates from our company directory, not payroll counts.

Higher education in Nebraska

  • 23

    public and private non-profit colleges

    Source: IPEDS, U.S. Department of Education

  • about 155,000

    students enrolled

    Estimated from size bands

Largest colleges in Nebraska

Largest colleges in Nebraska
CollegeCityTypeStudents
University of Nebraska-LincolnLincolnPublic 4-year20,000+
Bellevue UniversityBellevuePrivate non-profit 4-year10,000–19,999
University of Nebraska at OmahaOmahaPublic 4-year10,000–19,999
Creighton UniversityOmahaPrivate non-profit 4-year5,000–9,999
University of Nebraska at KearneyKearneyPublic 4-year5,000–9,999
Chadron State CollegeChadronPublic 4-year1,000–4,999
Clarkson CollegeOmahaPrivate non-profit 4-year1,000–4,999
Concordia University-NebraskaSewardPrivate non-profit 4-year1,000–4,999
Doane UniversityCretePrivate non-profit 4-year1,000–4,999
Midland UniversityFremontPrivate non-profit 4-year1,000–4,999
Nebraska Methodist College of Nursing & Allied HealthOmahaPrivate non-profit 4-year1,000–4,999
Nebraska Wesleyan UniversityLincolnPrivate non-profit 4-year1,000–4,999

All 23 Nebraska colleges

Workforce development and job centers

The public workforce board and American Job Centers serving Nebraska. They offer free help with job search, training and filing for benefits.

Laid off in Nebraska? How to file for unemployment in Nebraska (steps, weekly amount and the appeal deadline).

  • Greater Lincoln Workforce Development Board

    Lancaster, Saunders; City: City of Lincoln

  • Greater Nebraska Workforce Development Board

    Adams, Antelope, Arthur, Banner, Blaine, Boone, Box Butte, Boyd, Brown, Buffalo, Burt, Butler, Cass, Cedar, Chase, Cherry, Cheyenne, Clay, Colfax, Cuming, Custer, Dakota, Dawes, Dawson, Deuel, Dixon, Dodge, Dundy, Fillmore, Franklin, Frontier, Furnas, Gage, Garden, Garfield, Gosper, Grant, Greeley, Hall, Hamilton, Harlan, Hayes, Hitchcock, Holt, Hooker, Howard, Jefferson, Johnson, Kearney, Keith, Keya Paha, Kimball, Knox, Lincoln, Logan, Loup, Madison, McPherson, Merrick, Morrill, Nance, Nemaha, Nuckolls, Otoe, Pawnee, Perkins, Phelps, Pierce, Platte, Polk, Red Willow, Richardson, Rock, Saline, Scotts Bluff, Seward, Sheridan, Sherman, Sioux, Stanton, Thayer, Thomas, Thurston, Valley, Wayne, Webster, Wheeler, York

  • Heartland Workforce Solutions Inc.

    Douglas, Sarpy, Washington

11 American Job Centers in Nebraska

Job fairs and business events in Nebraska

Hiring events, career workshops, small-business counseling and startup events from chambers, job centers, workforce boards, colleges and economic-development groups in Nebraska.

Conferences in Nebraska

Industry conferences and trade shows held in Nebraska, the ones worth a trip for hiring managers and job seekers. 4 with dates announced.

All conferences

Nebraska counties

Each county page has its own unemployment, layoffs, job openings, employers, colleges and job centers.

Show all 93

Nebraska cities

Cities with open jobs, layoff notices, a job center or a college.

Show all 40

Laid off or looking for work in Nebraska?

See what to do first, what Nebraska unemployment benefits pay, and the jobs open near you.

See your options after a layoff

Sources: Census Bureau and BLS for population, income and unemployment; layoff notices from Nebraska’s published record; job counts from our live job board, taken from employers’ own career sites; IPEDS for colleges; CareerOneStop for workforce boards and job centers. Nebraska unemployment benefits and severance rules.

Applying and hearing nothing back?

Find out where you stand: your odds, the jobs that fit you and a plan for the week ahead. Free. No résumé needed.

Already a member? Log in

Get my Market Reality Assessment

Job seekers in Nebraska looking to you for help, or openings you cannot fill?

Leave your work email. We'll send how organizations use NextChapter to reach job seekers in Nebraska.

See how organizations use it