LINCOLN - A new report is showing that Nebraska is falling behind in many key economic areas.

The Aksarben Foundation, a nonprofit dedicated to attracting and retaining talent in Nebraska, commissioned Development Counsellors International (DCI) to perform the study. It found that Nebraska's two largest cities, Lincoln and Omaha, are losing ground when it comes to job growth and wages compared to similar-sized cities.  The study says that means the state is also missing out on billions of dollars in potential tax revenue.

"The reality is we're not growing," Mike Cassling, Chairman of the Aksarben Foundation Board of Governors said. "That's a huge, huge issue for all 93 counties."

The report says Lincoln and Omaha have lagged 68,000 jobs behind where they would be had they kept pace with peer markets, including Fayetteville, Arkansas, Huntsville, Alabama and Sioux Falls, South Dakota. These 68,000 jobs would have produced over $11 Billion in additional wages and resulted in between $600 Million and $800 Million in additional tax revenue for the state. If Omaha and Lincoln grow at rates commensurate with their peers, the report says it will drive lower property taxes and income taxes and provide funding to benefit all Nebraskans.

The Aksarben Foundation is reaching out to Omaha and Lincoln business leaders to explore how to best address the report's findings. Cassling says acknowledging the state's deficiencies is the first step in the process.

"The problem's not going away, it's only going to get worse. Part of this is to sound the alarm," Cassling said. "We're just coming with the data to say, 'this is real, this problem's not going away, we have to fix it.'"