UNL report: Producer services an engine for job growth in Nebraska

Nebraska has seen rapid growth in the high-wage portion of the service sector in the last decade. Since 1997, Nebraska has captured a solid share of the employment growth in "producer services"-- firms that sell services primarily to other businesses -- according to a new Business in Nebraska report from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln's Bureau of Business Research.

Producer services industries, which include businesses such as accounting firms, consultants and computer design services, is a main source of high-wage job growth in the state's evolving service industry, the report shows.

"While the Nebraska economy is currently struggling, the strength of the producer services sector over the last decade is a good sign for the long-run success of the state's economy," said Eric Thompson, director of the bureau.

The article breaks Nebraska's growth in producer service industries into two main categories: * Financial Activities, which includes jobs like loan officers, claims adjusters, actuaries, real estate agents, stock brokers and financial analysts; and * Professional, Scientific and Technical Services, which includes jobs such as lawyers, accountants, tax preparers, engineers, computer programmers, technical consultants, veterinarians and scientific researchers, among others. In the 10-year period, Nebraska saw rapid growth in the Professional, Scientific and Technical services sector. Employment there grew by 31.6 percent, just below the national growth rate in that area. Financial Activities jobs in the state grew by 24.3 percent, nearly 9 percent above the national average. Nebraska grew in these sectors despite not having large metropolitan areas, where producer services firms typically exist and thrive. For example, in 2007 the state had relatively few jobs in the Professional, Scientific and Technical Services area -- roughly 41,000 -- but Lincoln and Omaha both compared favorably in all producer-services employment when matched with similarly sized cities, the report shows.

Omaha's insurance and finance sector is outperforming its peer cities. Nearly 7 percent of the city's workforce was in these industries in 2007, while comparable cities averaged roughly 5 percent. And while Omaha lags slightly in the Professional, Scientific and Technical Services area, Lincoln had a higher share of jobs than its peer cities in both of the main categories in the study.

The report confirms that producer services firms are doing well in Nebraska cities -- and, more generally, that producer services are an area of high-wage growth for the state's economy.

The complete study is available at http://bbr.unl.edu/nebraska.aspx. The Bureau of Business Research is an applied economic and business research entity of the UNL College of Business Administration. Located in the Department of Economics, the bureau provides relevant information and data on economic conditions in Nebraska, the Plains and the nation as a service to individuals and businesses in the state. It also provides economists with opportunities to conduct applied economic research and trains students of economics and business in the conduct of applied research on economic and business topics. For more information, visit http://bbr.unl.edu.