About 10,000 Nebraska state government employees will see a 2-1/4% pay raise over each of the next two years under a newly-ratified union contract. State chief negotiator Bill Wood says the contract with employees covered under the Nebraska Association for Public Employees was ratified late last month.

The raises are an improvement from what the unionized employees have seen over the last two years. They went without pay raises in fiscal 2012 to help cover a $1 billion gap in the state’s budget and an even 2% raise for the current fiscal year…2013.

Offsetting some of the raise will be higher health care costs. Employee health insurance premiums will not rise the first year, but employees will be charged higher deductibles and out-of-pocket costs.