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Journal Article
Changes in International Trade Could Disproportionately Affect Employment in Pockets of the Tenth District
How might changes in international trade patterns or volumes affect local communities? This Economic Bulletin measures employment exposure to international trade across the Tenth Federal Reserve District (Colorado, Kansas, Nebraska, Oklahoma, Wyoming, and parts of Missouri and New Mexico).
Journal Article
Mass Layoffs Can Disproportionately Disrupt Small Communities
The recent closure of a meatpacking plant in Lexington, Nebraska, raises questions about how mass layoffs affect nearby communities as well as the broader regional economy. After sizeable layoffs in similar communities, the local labor force shrank, employment declined, and out-migration increased. Overall, smaller communities have faced large, negative consequences from mass layoff events.
Journal Article
Federal Enhancements to Unemployment Insurance Supported Tenth District Incomes in 2020
Federal supplements to state unemployment insurance mitigated income losses from COVID-19-related disruptions across the country. In the Tenth Federal Reserve District, many workers who lost jobs had their wages at least fully replaced by federally supported unemployment insurance. In some district states, total income—the sum of unemployment benefits and wages earned from employment—exceeded levels that might have been observed in the absence of the pandemic.
Journal Article
Hybrid Work May Pose Challenge to Bars and Restaurants in Parts of the Tenth Federal Reserve District
As remote or hybrid work continues to be popular, office attendance has fallen. Less in-person work may increase office vacancy rates and reduce foot traffic to other businesses located in office-dense areas. Compared with the national average, most states in the Tenth Federal Reserve District have a lower share of office space in office-dense areas, but some of these areas have a higher share of bars and restaurants. The outlook for these businesses may depend on how foot traffic within office-dense areas evolves.
Journal Article
Cost of Childcare Increasingly Weighs on Labor Force Engagement
Problems attaining childcare have weighed on workers’ engagement in the labor force for some time. Afew years ago, pandemic disruptions were the primary culprit in the lower consumption of childcareservices. Now, the rising cost of childcare may be to blame. As wage growth moderates, higher childcarecosts could place added pressure on households and cause some workers to at least partially disengagefrom the workforce.
Journal Article
First-Time Homeownership Became Less Affordable Across Most of the United States in Recent Years
New homeownership became less affordable across much of the United States over the last five years. Swiftly rising house prices and higher borrowing costs have not been fully offset by wage gains, making homeownership less affordable in both metropolitan and rural areas. Although new homeownership is less affordable than in years past, slower housing price gains and steadily rising wages may offer some reprieve for housing affordability in the coming year.
Journal Article
Labor Market Risk Associated with Trade Uncertainty More Limited in Nebraska
Nebraska’s labor market has remained strong through the first quarter of 2025 and faces more limited risk from trade policy uncertainty than other states.
Journal Article
Uncertainty Clouding a Conclusive Assessment of Nebraska’s Economy
Some economic data suggest that labor markets in Nebraska have remained solid, though perhaps somewhat cooler than a year or two ago.
Journal Article
Cooling Labor Markets in Nebraska Present Some Challenges for Younger Workers
Labor conditions in Nebraska have cooled over the last year, marked by slowing demand and a slight increase in unemployment. Hiring has slowed across industries and fewer workers are voluntarily leaving jobs, resulting in some challenges for younger workers.
Journal Article
Artificial Intelligence Offers an Opportunity for Nebraska Firms
While the adoption of artificial intelligence remains in early stages and its ultimate effects are uncertain, firms in Nebraska may use these products as an opportunity to address challenges in finding labor, managing costs, or both.