  We analyze the order alpha_s^2 corrections to the single inclusive jet cross
section in lepton-nucleon deep inelastic scattering. The full calculation is
done analytically, in the small cone approximation, obtaining finite NLO
partonic level cross sections for these processes. A detailed study of the
different underlying partonic reactions is presented focusing in the size of
the corrections they get at NLO accuracy, their relative weight, and the
residual scale uncertainty they leave in the full cross section depending on
the kinematical region explored. The dominant partonic process in very forward
jet production is found to start at order alpha_s^2, being effectively a lowest
order estimate, with the consequent large factorization scale uncertainty, and
the likelihood of non-negligible corrections at the subsequent order in
perturbation theory.
