LINCOLN - Despite a number of risks and some general uncertainty, Nebraska's economy should continue to grow over the next three years. That's the conclusion of the latest three-year forecast from the University of Nebraska–Lincoln’s Bureau of Business Research and the Nebraska Business Forecast Council

Eric Thompson, director of the Bureau of Business Research at UNL's College of Business, said the state faces two main threats to its economy over the next few years: The potential that the Federal Reserve Bank may need to increase interest rates rapidly in order to reduce the rate of inflation, and the possibility that the COVID-19 pandemic could worsen significantly next year.

Employment is expected to rise with 1.4% job growth in 2022 as the state economy continues to recover jobs lost in the 2020 recession. Employment growth should then “normalize” to a 0.9% rate in 2023 and a 0.8% rate in 2024, according to the forecast.

Job growth will be stronger in 2022 as the leisure and hospitality sector and local government employment bounce back toward pre-pandemic levels. Job growth will then return to the long-term pattern of rising employment in services, finance, construction and non-durable goods manufacturing, and falling employment in retail and wholesale trade and durable goods manufacturing.

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