April 16, 2021

The unemployment rate in the Sioux Falls area rose slightly from January to February.

The jobless rate increased from 3 percent to 3.2 percent, according to statistics from the South Dakota Department of Labor and Regulation. The rate is unchanged from a year ago. The high for 2020 came in April when the unemployment rate climbed to 10.5 percent as businesses shut down because of the coronavirus pandemic.

February’s unemployment rate represents almost 5,000 people in the metro area who are looking for work.

From January to February, nonfarm wage and salaried worker levels in the Sioux Falls area dropped by 500 people to 154,200. The largest percentage decline was in financial activities at 2 percent, a loss of 300 workers. The largest percentage increase came in the education and health services category, which gained 500 workers, up 1.5 percent.

Statewide, the number of nonfarm wage and salaried workers increased by 2,300 workers in February, a rise of less than 1 percent. That’s an improvement from a loss of 9,400 workers, a 2.2 percent drop, in January. The total of 423,600 workers remains below the pre-pandemic total of 433,500 in February 2020.

The state’s seasonally adjusted jobless rate was 2.9 percent in February, unchanged from a year ago. That represents 13,800 people who do not have jobs, have actively looked for one in the past four weeks and are available to work. The rate was 3.1 percent in January. It reached a record high of 9.2 percent in April 2020.

The national unemployment rate in February was 6.2 percent, compared with 3.5 percent a year ago. It was 6.3 percent in January.

According to the most recent quarterly census of employment and wages statewide, the pandemic-related decimation of employment levels in spring 2020 has been recouped and surpassed.

South Dakota employers reported almost 34,000 fewer workers in April 2020 compared with March 2020. Employment levels have since recovered and exceeded those March levels, reaching a 2020 monthly employment high of 425,289 in October, according to the state’s Labor Market Information Center.

“Although the December level of 423,296 was slightly lower, such a drop is not unexpected due to seasonality in some of South Dakota’s industries,” according to LMIC. “The good news is the fourth quarter data indicates South Dakota employment has recovered from the blows the pandemic initially dealt to the state, with employment almost reaching pre-COVID 19 levels.”

Monthly employment levels in the fourth quarter are not as high as historically typical, the report noted. There were 7,924 fewer workers in October 2020 compared with October 2019.

The number of establishments reporting employment and wages in the state reached a record high of 35,491 in the fourth quarter. Average weekly wages rose by 16.6 percent from the first quarter to the fourth quarter, reaching $1,051.