April 14, 2025

Sioux Falls reclaimed its spot as the U.S. metro area with the lowest unemployment rate, now sharing it in February with Rapid City at 2.1 percent.

For the Sioux Falls metro area, the rate was unchanged from January, and for Rapid City, it was an increase from 2 percent.

Of the 389 metropolitan areas, El Centro, California, had the highest jobless rate at 17.2 percent, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Last year, the Sioux Falls area had the nation’s lowest unemployment rate or was tied for it for eight months.

For the Sioux Falls metro area, which includes Minnehaha, Lincoln, McCook and Turner counties and Rock County in Minnesota, the 2.1 percent rate for February represents 3,603 unemployed people, according to the South Dakota Department of Labor & Regulation. In January, the number of unemployed was 3,604.

The jobless rate, which is not seasonally adjusted and is preliminary, represents residents who do not have jobs, have actively looked for one in the past four weeks and are available to work. It also includes those who have been laid off temporarily.

The total labor force for the Sioux Falls MSA, those who are employed and unemployed, was 175,138 in February, an increase from 174,648 the previous month.

A year ago, the metro area jobless rate was 2.5 percent.

The labor supply, those who would be available to staff a new or expanding business, was estimated at 16,375 people in the metro area, down from 16,450 in January. That includes people who are not working and those who would like to change jobs.

The number of job openings in the Sioux Falls MSA, which does not include Rock County yet, dropped to 11,425 in February, according to the state’s virtual labor market data system. There were 11,898 open positions the previous month. A year ago, there were 12,582 openings.

Nonfarm wage and salaried worker levels in the Sioux Falls MSA dropped by 100 people to 177,100 in February, compared with the previous month. The biggest percentage increase was the category of other services except public administration at 1.5 percent, or 100 jobs.

The biggest percentage declines – 1.3 percent — were in the leisure and hospitality, and manufacturing categories, both of which fell by 200 jobs.

Compared with a year ago, overall nonfarm wage and salaried worker levels were up by 1,600 people in the MSA.

South Dakota’s unemployment rate was unchanged at 1.9 percent in February and once again was the lowest rate in the country, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

The next-lowest rates were North Dakota and Vermont at 2.6 percent. Nevada had the highest jobless rate at 5.8 percent. The only state with a change in February was Florida, rising one-tenth of a percentage point to 3.6 percent.

South Dakota’s jobless rate, which is seasonally adjusted, represents 9,200 people who do not have jobs, have actively looked for one in the past four weeks and are available to work, along with those laid off temporarily, according to the state Labor Department. A year ago, the rate was 1.7 percent, and there were 8,400 unemployed South Dakotans.

In January, South Dakota’s labor force rose by 700 people to 492,200 from the previous month. A year ago, it was 484,800.

The labor supply, those who would be available to staff a new or expanding business, was estimated at 45,360 people. That’s up from 45,070 in January and includes people who are not working and those who would like to change jobs.

The national unemployment rate rose to 4.1 percent in February from 4 percent in January. A year ago, the rate was 3.9 percent.