| A state’s economy must be competitive to grow and thrive. How competitive is Nebraska’s economy? Answering this question is the focus of a report released earlier this year by the Nebraska Chamber Foundation. Partnering with the consulting firm, Economic Leadership LLC, the report, Nebraska Economic Competitiveness Assessment, measures Nebraska’s economic standing against other states and provides an in-depth assessment of sectors in the economy which are growing and those struggling. The report uses clusters to identify growing and struggling sectors. Clusters are defined as groups of industries which export goods and services outside the state and contain a supply chain of support industries like suppliers, infrastructure, and machinery. The researchers collected employment and wage data for Nebraska industries and grouped them into 53 clusters. Figure 3 maps the findings. The vertical axis shows the employment concentration ratios. The ratio compares a sector’s employment in Nebraska with the national average. A ratio greater than 1.00 denotes a higher concentration of employment in Nebraska compared to the national average. The horizontal axis shows employment changes between 2017-2022. Clusters in the upper right quadrant are strong and growing. The ones in the bottom left are weak and declining. The strength of Nebraska’s agricultural sector can be seen in the cluster analysis. Several agribusiness related clusters are found in the upper right quadrant, indicating they are strong and growing. Livestock processing, agricultural inputs and services, heavy machinery (likely includes farm equipment), upstream chemicals (includes ethanol and pesticides) are seen in this quadrant. Employment in these clusters is more concentrated in Nebraska relative to national averages and the clusters have seen job growth since 2017. In contrast, hospitality and tourism; marketing, design, and publishing; and financial services lost jobs and have employment concentration ratios less than the national average. Figure 4 provides information on clusters in Nebraska with employment concentration ratios greater than one. In total, 17 clusters have concentration ratios exceeding the national average. Employment numbers and average salaries are also listed. Again, several agribusiness related clusters are found on the list. |
| FIGURE 3. NEBRASKA CLUSTER MAP |
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| Source: Nebraska Economic Competitive Assessment, Nebraska Chamber Foundation and Economic Leadership, LLC, 2024. |
| FIGURE 4. FASTEST GROWING CLUSTERS IN NEBRASKA |
 Source: Nebraska Economic Competitive Assessment, Nebraska Chamber Foundation and Economic Leadership, LLC, 2024 |
| The Nebraska Chamber Foundation report provides a wealth of data on Nebraska’s economy, demographics, and infrastructure related to economic competitiveness. Noted positives for Nebraska include its relative affordability, a strong education system, and reasonably good infrastructure. Nebraska’s strength in agriculture and agribusinesses is another positive. Challenges include a very tight labor market, insufficient population growth, technology-related skills shortages, and low marks for an environment conducive for innovation. The reports can be found at: https://www.nechamber.com/research-reports.html |
