LINCOLN - Unemployment claims in Nebraska jumped sharply last week to their highest level in about five years, with 3,043 initial filings for the week ending Jan. 24, more than three times the total from the previous week and the biggest increase of any state. The surge is largely tied to the closure of the Tyson Foods beef processing plant in Lexington, which employed over 3,000 people and recently shut down, leading many workers to seek unemployment benefits.

The spike occurred against a backdrop of already elevated unemployment, as Nebraska’s seasonally adjusted jobless rate has been at around 3% in recent months, and there were notably more unemployed residents in December compared to a year earlier. The Tyson plant closing appears to have a significant impact on the state’s labor market, even as broader employment indicators had been relatively stable.

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