Aug. 28, 2024

After three months of tying for the metro area with the lowest unemployment rate in the country, Sioux Falls claimed the No. 1 spot for itself in July.

The unemployment rate in the Sioux Falls metro area dropped to 1.6 percent last month from 1.9 percent in June.

At 1.8 percent, Rapid City had the second-lowest rate among the 389 metropolitan areas, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

The metro area with the highest rate was El Centro, California, at 18.7 percent, up more than 2 percentage points from the previous month.

For the Sioux Falls metro area, which includes Minnehaha, Lincoln, McCook and Turner counties, the 1.6 percent unemployment rate represents 2,786 people, according to the South Dakota Department of Labor & Regulation.

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. In June, the number of unemployed was 3,147.

The total labor force for the Sioux Falls MSA, those who are employed and unemployed, was 169,074 in July, up from 166,821 the previous month.

A year ago, the metro area jobless rate was even lower at 1.4 percent, with 2,342 people who were unemployed out of a labor force of 167,457.

The labor supply, those who would be available to staff a new or expanding business, was estimated at 16,215 people in the metro area. 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 slipped to 12,008 in July, according to the state’s virtual labor market data system. There were 12,193 open positions the previous month. A year ago, there were 14,795 openings.

Nonfarm wage and salaried worker levels in the Sioux Falls MSA fell by 800 people to 175,100 from June to July. The category of government saw the biggest decline at 9.1 percent, a loss of 1,500 jobs. That’s a seasonal decline for local government education services with schools on summer break, the Labor Department said.

Two categories saw 2.2 percent increases: leisure and hospitality with an additional 400 jobs and mining, logging and construction with 300 more jobs.

Compared with a year ago, overall nonfarm wage and salaried worker levels were down by 400 workers in the MSA.

South Dakota’s unemployment rate was unchanged in July at 2 percent, the lowest rate in the country, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. The next-lowest rates were Vermont at 2.1 percent and North Dakota at 2.2 percent. The District of Columbia had the highest jobless rate at 5.5 percent, followed by Nevada at 5.4 percent.

The state’s jobless rate, which is seasonally adjusted, represents 9,600 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 percent, and there were 9,700 unemployed South Dakotans.

In July, South Dakota’s labor force rose by 1,100 people to 482,700 from the previous month. A year ago, it was 481,500.

The labor supply, those who would be available to staff a new or expanding business, was estimated at 47,700 people. That’s up from 42,385 in June and includes people who are not working and those who would like to change jobs.

The national unemployment rate rose to 4.3 percent in July from 4.1 percent in June. A year ago, the rate was 3.5 percent.

Next week, the Sioux Falls Job Service will co-host a career fair with the Hartford Chamber of Commerce.

The event will be from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Sept. 5 at 120 Main Event in Hartford. Job-seekers should bring a resume and be prepared to interview for open positions. Businesses that want to participate are asked to register online by noon Tuesday.