Let's Break It Down
Unemployment rates are as high as 23% in some areas of the metro.
While overall unemployment is low at 6%, eastern Omaha and western Council Bluffs have pockets of much higher unemployment, with some areas reaching as high as 23%. Looking at unemployment by race reveals large disparities. Unemployment is at 14% for people who are Black, 10% for Hispanics and Latinos, and 5% for people who are White. Between 2010 and 2014, unemployment rates decreased for people who are Black, and slightly increased for Hispanics and Latinos as well as people who are White.
Underemployment rates reveal that 51% of those in poverty have at least one job.
Underemployment, while difficult to measure, is also important to consider. People who are underemployed have to take jobs below their skill level, work part time or limited hours, or accept temporary positions in order to provide for themselves and their family when there is a lack of jobs or access to existing jobs. In 2014, 1 in 10 people (8%) worked multiple jobs in Nebraska and Iowa, compared to the national rate of 1 in 20 (5%). Additionally, 51% of people living below the poverty line are working full or part-time. Nationally, 42% of people living in poverty are working. Further exploring underemployment within our community would help us more accurately understand needs related to unemployment.