Workforce

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Our Workforce

Our 13-county district of Nebraska is home to a hard-working, highly educated workforce 750,000 strong. We continue to grow, with a projected population of over 2 million by 2030.

Work Ethic

Nebraskans work hard. With a 69.7% labor force participation rate, one of the highest in the nation, and one in eight workers holding two or more jobs, there is no questioning a Nebraskan’s work ethic.

Research shows that we have low workforce turnover and we’ve been ranked the 2nd Best in Labor Force Participation by U.S. News and World Report (2024).

Our workforce demonstrates the Midwestern work ethic, producing $4,000 more goods and services than the average worker does, nationally.

We’ve added almost 73,000 jobs over the past ten years – twice as much as the national average.

Training

Within our 60-mile radius you’ll find a workforce with a proven track record of helping tech firms (PayPal, LinkedIn, Oath (formerly Yahoo!), Google and Meta), manufacturing businesses (ConAgra Brands, Airlite Plastics), and Bioscience companies (Cargill, Evonik, Novozymes). Our population is well-trained to handle the demands of data center employment, manufacturing, and biosciences.

Our state offers unique programs for job training and education in these specialty areas.

Nebraska Customized Job-Training Advantage

Provides a flexible and discretionary job-training program that offers $800-$4,000+ per job, depending on the financial investment, number of jobs being created, types of jobs, training being provided and by whom, and geographic considerations. You can design your own training, or a statewide training team can assist with the training needs assessments, training plans, curriculum development and training instruction.

For more information: Nebraska Customized Job-Training Advantage.

Intern Nebraska

The Intern Nebraska Program helps businesses create and fund new internship positions for college and university students to gain job experience while working with companies across the state. Grants awarded may be up to 50% of the cost of the internship for eligible projects, up to $5,000 per internship.

A business will be limited to a maximum of 25 awarded internships in a 12-month period. A business may apply for no more than two consecutive grants for the same student.

For more information: Intern Nebraska