July 5, 2023

The unemployment rate for the Sioux Falls metro area dipped in May to 1.7 percent.

South Dakota’s jobless rate was unchanged at 1.9 percent in May — the lowest unemployment rate in the United States for the third straight month.

In the Sioux Falls MSA, the unemployment rate, which isn’t seasonally adjusted, also was 1.7 percent in March before rising to 1.8 percent in April, according to statistics from the South Dakota Department of Labor & Regulation.

Only four metropolitan areas in the U.S. – all in New England — had a lower unemployment rate than Sioux Falls in May, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Burlington/South Burlington, Vermont, was the lowest at 1.3 percent.

The local rate represents 2,783 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 April, the number of unemployed was 2,971.

The total labor force for the Sioux Falls MSA, those who are employed and unemployed, was 167,126 in May, up from 165,111 the previous month.

A year ago, the metro area jobless rate also was 1.7 percent, with 2,726 people who were unemployed out of a labor force of 161,455.

The number of job openings in the Sioux Falls MSA rose to 16,530 in May, according to the state’s virtual labor market data system. There were 15,832 open positions the previous month. May’s figure is significantly lower than the 22,243 openings a year ago.

Nonfarm wage and salaried worker levels in the Sioux Falls MSA rose from April to May by 2,800 people to 172,500, a gain of 1.6 percent. Leisure and hospitality saw the biggest growth at 8 percent as businesses ramped up for the tourism season. Mining, logging and construction also showed a seasonal gain at 4.8 percent. The only categories to show a decline were financial activities, down 0.7 percent, and private education and health services, down 0.3 percent.

Compared with a year ago, nonfarm wage and salaried worker levels were up 2.9 percent in the MSA, which includes Minnehaha, Lincoln, McCook and Turner counties.

South Dakota’s unemployment rate of 1.9 percent, which is seasonally adjusted, represents 8,900 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.

Nebraska and New Hampshire also had rates of 1.9 percent, according to preliminary data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Nevada again had the highest rate at 5.4 percent. The national rate was 3.7 percent, up from 3.4 percent the previous month. It was 3.6 percent a year ago.

In May, South Dakota’s labor force grew by 1,800 workers to 480,600. A year ago, it was 476,100.

The labor supply, those who would be available to staff a new or expanding business, was estimated at 41,050 people. That’s a slight drop from 41,255 in April and includes people who are not working and those who would like to change jobs.