LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) – Nebraska’s unemployment rate improved to 4 percent in January to come in at less than half the national rate of 8.3 percent. The state Labor Department released the preliminary January figures on Tuesday. The January rate for Nebraska is better than the revised December rate of 4.2 percent. Labor Commissioner Catherine Lang says the rates show that Nebraska’s economy continues to recover from the recession. Nebraska again had the second-lowest unemployment rate in January behind North Dakota’s 3.2 percent. The number of unemployed people in Nebraska was estimated at 41,010 in January. That was smaller than December’s 42,947 and last January’s 45,083. The total workforce in the state is just over 1 million.