Nebraska’s jobless rate rises again, hitting 2.8 percent

The state lost 5,500 private sector jobs but still has a record number of people employed overall.

It was the 21st consecutive month that Arkansas’ employment level increased, said Susan Price of the Arkansas Department of Workforce Services.

Kern County unemployment dipped to a seasonally unadjusted 9.3 percent in August, its lowest rate since November, as farmers, schools and manufacturers created new jobs.

Gov. Rick Scott announced the state unemployment dipped down to 5.3 percent for August as more than 20,000 private sector jobs were added across the state.

Seven of 11 employment classifications saw job gains, including construction, transportation, financial activities, educational and health services, leisure and hospitality and government. That is up from 7.5 percent in July.

Nonfarm employment again reached over 1 million, said state Labor Commissioner John Albin, who also pointed to rate declines for the Grand Island, Lincoln and Omaha metropolitan areas. Though numbers may face adjustment next month, this represents the best year-over-year August job growth in the last ten years.

The professional and business services sector has added 29,000 jobs since June 2009, Kaza said. Gov. Steve Bullock notes Montana has 10,700 more jobs than it did at this time a year ago. In August a year ago, the economy added 14,300 jobs.

Lincoln County’s rate was highest in the state, 8.7 percent, followed by Glacier County (8 percent) and Sanders County (7.5 percent).

There was a net gain of 6,100non-farm jobs in August for the Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario statistical area, the California Employment Development Department reported.

Louisiana’s unemployment rate remained above the national average. The number of people unemployed fell by almost 400 compared with July and by 900 compared with August 2014.