LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — A new report says Nebraska’s preliminary unemployment rate remained 3 percent in March, matching the rates posted in February and January.

The Nebraska Labor Department said in the report issued Friday that the rate was two-tenths of a point higher than the 2.8 percent reported for March and February last year.

The new Nebraska rate remained well below the preliminary national unemployment rate of 5 percent in March — a tenth of a point higher than February’s 4.9 percent. The U.S. Labor Department says only Colorado’s rate of 2.9 percent, the 2.6 percent for New Hampshire and the 2.5 percent recorded for South Dakota were lower than Nebraska’s 3 percent.