Dec. 27, 2022

The unemployment rate for the Sioux Falls metro area dipped in November.

The jobless rate was 1.7 percent, down from 1.8 percent in October, according to statistics from the South Dakota Department of Labor & Regulation.

The local unemployment rate, which isn’t seasonally adjusted, represents 2,786 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 October, that figure was 2,958.

The total labor force for the Sioux Falls MSA, those who are employed and unemployed, was 164,374 in November, basically flat from 164,219 in October.

A year ago, the metro area jobless rate was 2.2 percent, with 3,517 people who were unemployed out of a labor force of 160,790.

Nonfarm wage and salaried worker levels in the metro area rose slightly from October to November, increasing by 200 people to 171,000. The category of retail trade saw the biggest increase at 2.6 percent, a gain of 500 workers from October.

Continuing to reflect the changing seasons, leisure and hospitality saw the sharpest decline at 2.5 percent, a loss of 400 workers.

Compared with a year ago, nonfarm wage and salaried worker levels were up 4 percent in the Sioux Falls MSA, which includes Minnehaha, Lincoln, McCook and Turner counties.

The number of job openings fell in the past month. In the MSA, there were 16,039 job openings in November, according to the state’s virtual labor market data system. That compares with 17,052 openings in the previous month and 18,642 openings a year ago.

The statewide unemployment rate for November, which is seasonally adjusted, was unchanged from October at 2.4 percent.

The rate represents 11,300 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 2.9 percent, and there were 13,700 unemployed South Dakotans.

While the statewide labor force has grown in the past year from 469,900 to 477,400, it dropped by 400 workers from October to November.

The labor supply, those who would be available to staff a new or expanding business, was estimated at 50,500 people. That’s a drop from 51,220 people in October and includes people who do not have jobs and those who would like to change jobs.

The national unemployment rate was unchanged at 3.7 percent. A year ago, it was 4.2 percent.