LINCOLN — The largest labor union representing state government employees has voted to accept a contract with the state that includes pay raises of between 6.5% and up to 19% over a two-year period.

Another step in the right direction is a negotiated benefit that allows six weeks of paid maternity leave, up from none before, said Justin Hubly, executive director of the Nebraska Association of Public Employees.

Nebraska emerged from the pandemic in 2022 with the worst workforce shortage in the U.S.

Businesses and governments statewide had more than 80,000 job openings and only 32 people looking for work for every 100 of those openings, according to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.

The minimum wage will increase in nearly half the states this year even as the federal wage floor remains stuck at $7.25 per hour.

In many states, the minimum wage is automatically adjusted upward as inflation rises. But voters in several states, including deeply red ones such as Nebraska, Alaska and Missouri, chose in November to significantly increase their minimum wages this year.