Dawson County, NE jobs, unemployment and layoffs

Dawson County’s unemployment rate is 13.0%. Employers filed 3 layoff notices here in the last 12 months. 1 open professional jobs are in its cities.

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Dawson County economy

13.0%
unemployment, Sep 2026
2.8% the month before
11,494
in the labor force
Source: BLS Local Area Unemployment Statistics
24,020
people in Dawson County
Source: U.S. Census Bureau
$65,383
median household income
Source: Census ACS
28%
of workers in white-collar occupations
Management, business, financial and professional; Census ACS

Dawson County outlook: Cooling

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

Private-sector jobs down 0.6% from 2022 to 2025
Population up 1.5% from 2020 to 2025
Unemployment 13.0%, up 10.2 points from a year ago

Local job-market news

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

TikTok’s Bellevue Workforce Grows to 2,200 Despite Layoffs and a Smaller Office FootprintDowntown Bellevue Network · Oct 22, 2026

Learn and get funded in Dawson County

Which AI skills each kind of job asks for, with the pay premium.
Your local workforce board and American Job Centers: training vouchers and re-employment help.
Grants and funding for job seekers, ranked for your state and situation.
Unemployment benefits by state, if you are between jobs.

Dawson County layoffs

3
Layoff notices, last 12 months
3,645
workers named
A floor: states may leave out counts
3
employers

Layoff notices filed in Dawson County, newest first
Notice date	Employer	City or county	Workers	Type	Source
Jan 21, 2026	Tyson Extension - Lexington	Lexington	294	—	State record
Nov 26, 2025	Fortrex	Lexington	139	—	State record
Nov 21, 2025	Tyson - Lexington	Lexington	3,212	—	State record

All layoff notices in the state

Employers hiring most in Dawson County

Employers with the most open professional roles in this county’s cities. The county is taken from each job’s city, so roles with no city are not counted.

MLee Healthcare Staffing and Recruiting1 open role

Workforce development and job centers

The public workforce board and American Job Centers serving Dawson County. 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 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

Lexington Workforce Development
Lexington · Affiliate · 308-324-2064
Mon- Fri 8:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m.

Cities in Dawson County

Lexington1 jobs

Other Nebraska counties

All of Nebraska

Laid off or looking for work in Dawson County?

See what to do first and the jobs open near you.

See your options after a layoff

Sources: Census Bureau and BLS (county unemployment is not seasonally adjusted); layoff notices from Nebraska’s published record; job counts from our live job board; IPEDS for colleges; CareerOneStop for workforce boards and job centers. Nebraska unemployment benefits and severance rules.

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