Nov. 1, 2023

The unemployment rate for the Sioux Falls metro area dipped to 1.6 percent in September, compared with 1.8 percent in August.

According to the South Dakota Department of Labor & Regulation, the Sioux Falls unemployment rate, which is not seasonally adjusted and is preliminary, represents 2,633 residents in the four-county MSA 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. In August, the number of unemployed was 2,972.

The total labor force for the Sioux Falls MSA, those who are employed and unemployed, was 167,979 in September, up from 166,926 the previous month.

A year ago, the metro area jobless rate was 1.4 percent – its record low — with 2,318 people who were unemployed out of a labor force of 163,277.

The number of job openings in the Sioux Falls MSA rose to 15,106 in September, according to the state’s virtual labor market data system. There were 14,633 open positions the previous month. A year ago, there were 18,618 openings.

Nonfarm wage and salaried worker levels in the Sioux Falls MSA were unchanged in September at 174,500. Government saw the biggest increase at 8.7 percent. With an end to the main tourism season, leisure and hospitality saw the biggest decline, with a 3.9 percent drop in the number of workers.

Compared with a year ago, nonfarm wage and salaried worker levels were up 2.7 percent in the MSA, which includes Minnehaha, Lincoln, McCook and Turner counties.

South Dakota’s unemployment rate was unchanged in September at 1.9 percent. Only Maryland has a lower rate at 1.6 percent. North Dakota and Vermont have the same rate as South Dakota.

The state’s jobless rate, which is seasonally adjusted, represents 9,400 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 2.2 percent, and there were 10,400 unemployed South Dakotans.

In September, South Dakota’s labor force grew by 900 workers from the previous month to 484,000. A year ago, it was 475,000.

The labor supply, those who would be available to staff a new or expanding business, was estimated at 46,005 people. That’s a decrease from 47,435 in August and includes people who are not working and those who would like to change jobs.

The national unemployment rate was 3.8 percent in September, unchanged from August. A year ago, the rate was 3.5 percent.