A recent study by the economic website HeadlightData.com showed Douglas County has the fourth-lowest unemployment rate in the nation among mid-sized counties with populations between 150,000 and 500,000 residents.

Using data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics that reflected conditions as of September, the study analyzed all 292 mid-sized counties in the U.S. Douglas County’s 2.6 percent unemployment rate trailed only Cass County, North Dakota; Lancaster, Nebraska; and Boulder County for lowest in the nation.

The 2.6 percent unemployment rate eclipsed a pre-recession low of 2.7 percent in May 2007 and is the lowest recorded rate by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics since May 2001, when it was 2.4 percent. During the recession, the county’s unemployment rate reached a peak of 7.2 percent in 2010 and was still as high as 6 percent in early 2013 and 5 percent in early 2014.