Local and state unemployment rates fell last month to their lowest levels since the coronavirus pandemic started.

According to data released Tuesday by the Nebraska Department of Labor, Nebraska's unemployment rate in September was 3.5%, while the rate for the Lincoln area was 3.2%. Those rates were both significantly higher than they were a year ago, but they are at their lowest levels since February. The state rate was the lowest in the nation for the second month in a row.

Commissioner of Labor John Albin said job numbers have continued to climb, with Nebraska topping 1 million jobs in September for the first time since March.

“Not only does the unemployment rate continue to drop, but Nebraska’s non-farm job count continues to increase,” he said in a news release.

The number of jobs statewide in September was more than 10,000 higher than in August, the largest gain for the month since 1976. But compared with September 2019, the number of jobs declined by more than 27,000.

In the Lincoln Metropolitan Statistical Area, which includes Lancaster and Seward counties, there were more than 3,000 more jobs in September than in August but about 750 fewer than in September 2019.

Two of the state's leading economists note that while the employment situation is improving, the economy is still far from recovered.

Eric Thompson, director of the Bureau of Business Research at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, said Current Employment Statistics data shows Nebraska has recovered only about 70% of the total jobs lost since April.

"Taken together, the CES employment and the unemployment rate data suggest that the economy is recovering but still needs to make additional progress," Thompson said, noting that he expects the economy to continue to improve over the coming months.

Creighton University economist Ernie Goss said the two monthly regional economic surveys he produces suggest Nebraska's economy is improving at a "solid pace," but pre-pandemic employment is still down about 5%.

He, too, expects the economy to continue expanding over the coming months, although at a slower-than-normal pace, as gains in the agricultural and manufacturing industries are likely to be mostly offset by losses in the restaurant industry.

In the short term, however, "coronavirus is in charge," Goss said.

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