The number of Nebraskans filing for unemployment dropped last week, but was still well above pre-pandemic claims.
The U.S. Department of Labor says 16-thousand-391 people filed for unemployment in Nebraska last week, which is a decrease of more than ten-thousand from the previous week's record high of 26-thousand-788.
Officials say more than 82-thousand Nebraskans have filed for unemployment in the last month. That's like adding the populations of Bellevue, Papillion and LaVista together.
Almost 17-thousand of those claims come from people who work in the food industry. Many unemployed Nebraskans have expressed frustration because they haven't seen a check in more than a month.
The state says it's hiring 200 additional adjusters, but with more than 80,000 Nebraskans filing claims in a month, it's taking longer than usual. "The system is keeping up well, but you have to remember what's going on," Nebraska Labor Commissioner John Albin says.
He says the typical standard is to process a claim in 21 days, but twice as many claims have been filed in a month than were filed all of last year in Nebraska.
"We're going to dig out. We're behind a bit. We're hoping to hit 75 percent in 28 days is our current goal."