March 13, 2023

The unemployment rate for the Sioux Falls metro area is back below 2 percent again.

The jobless rate in January was 1.9 percent, down from 2 percent in December, according to statistics from the South Dakota Department of Labor & Regulation. February’s numbers will be available later this month.

The local unemployment rate, which isn’t seasonally adjusted, represents 3,052 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 December, the number of unemployed was 3,197.

The total labor force for the Sioux Falls MSA, those who are employed and unemployed, was 161,165 in December, down from 162,847 the previous month.

A year ago, the metro area jobless rate was 2.5 percent, with 4,012 people who were unemployed out of a labor force of 159,906.

The number of job openings rose for the first time since falling every month since last year’s peak in July of 23,341. In the MSA, there were 14,874 job openings in January, according to the state’s virtual labor market data system. That compares with 14,548 open positions in the previous month and 18,965 openings a year ago.

Nonfarm wage and salaried worker levels in the metro area fell from December to January, dropping by 2,400 people to 166,400, or 1.4 percent. The category that includes construction saw the biggest decline at 5.1 percent, a drop of 500 workers from December. The subcategory of transportation, warehousing and utilities dropped 4.7 percent, or 300 workers. No categories saw increases. Information, government and the subcategory of wholesale trade were unchanged.

Compared with a year ago, nonfarm wage and salaried worker levels were up 2.5 percent in the Sioux Falls MSA, which includes Minnehaha, Lincoln, McCook and Turner counties.

The statewide unemployment rate for January, which is seasonally adjusted, dropped from 2.3 percent to 2.1 percent.

The rate represents 10,100 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 9,400 unemployed South Dakotans.

In January, the statewide labor force grew by 300 workers to 475,300. A year ago, it was 472,600.

The labor supply, those who would be available to staff a new or expanding business, was estimated at 43,555 people. That’s a drop from 51,700 people in December and includes people are not working and those who would like to change jobs.

The national unemployment rate fell to 3.4 percent in January from 3.5 percent the previous month. A year ago, it was 4 percent.