Oct. 7, 2024

The unemployment rate in the Sioux Falls metro area rose to 1.9 percent in August from 1.6 percent in July, but it was still the lowest rate in the country.

Sioux Falls also had the lowest rate of the 389 metropolitan areas the previous month, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Before that, it was tied for No. 1 for three months.

Rapid City was tied with two other metro areas for the next-lowest rate at 2.1 percent in August. The metro area with the highest rate was El Centro, California, at 18.7 percent, up 1.5 percentage points from the previous month.

For the Sioux Falls metro area, which includes Minnehaha, Lincoln, McCook and Turner counties, the 1.9 percent unemployment rate represents 3,131 people, according to the South Dakota Department of Labor & Regulation. In July, the number of unemployed was 2,786.

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.

The total labor force for the Sioux Falls MSA, those who are employed and unemployed, was 165,961 in August, down from 169,074 the previous month.

A year ago, the metro area jobless rate also was 1.9 percent, with 3,098 people who were unemployed out of a labor force of 166,315.

The labor supply, those who would be available to staff a new or expanding business, was estimated at 16,505 people in the metro area, up from 16,215 in July. 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 rose to 12,581 in August, according to the state’s virtual labor market data system. There were 12,008 open positions the previous month. A year ago, there were 14,633 openings.

Nonfarm wage and salaried worker levels in the Sioux Falls MSA fell by 1,000 people to 174,100 from July to August. The category of mining, logging and construction saw the biggest decline at 2.2 percent, a loss of 300 jobs. Financial activities declined by 2.1 percent, or 300 workers.

The biggest increase was government at 3.4 percent, or 500 jobs. That followed a 9.1 percent decline in July related to local government education services workers on summer break. The subcategory of transportation, warehousing and utilities was the only other group in August to see an increase at 1.2 percent.

Compared with a year ago, overall nonfarm wage and salaried worker levels were down by 500 workers in the MSA.

South Dakota’s unemployment rate was unchanged in August at 2 percent, once again the lowest rate in the country, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. The next-lowest rates were Vermont at 2.2 percent and North Dakota at 2.3 percent – both of which rose one-tenth of a percentage point from July. The District of Columbia had the highest jobless rate at 5.7 percent, followed by Nevada at 5.5 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 9,800 unemployed South Dakotans.

In August, South Dakota’s labor force rose by 500 people to 483,200 from the previous month. A year ago, it was 481,700.

The labor supply, those who would be available to staff a new or expanding business, was estimated at 48,610 people. That’s up from 47,700 in July and includes people who are not working and those who would like to change jobs.

The national unemployment rate dipped to 4.2 percent in August from 4.3 percent in July. A year ago, the rate was 3.8 percent.