April 20, 2026

The unemployment rate in the Sioux Falls metro area rose to 2.5 percent in January – the second month of an increase.

The December rate was 2.3 percent, and November was 2 percent, the most recent time it was the lowest in the country.

Urban Honolulu had the lowest metro area jobless rate in January at 2.1 percent, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

For the Sioux Falls metro area, which includes Minnehaha, Lincoln, McCook and Turner counties and Rock County in Minnesota, the 2.5 percent rate represents 4,383 unemployed people, according to the South Dakota Department of Labor & Regulation. In December, the number of unemployed was 4,078.

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.

A year ago, the metro area jobless rate was 2 percent, with 1,570 unemployed people.

The total labor force for the Sioux Falls MSA, those who are employed and unemployed, was 175,720 in January, a slight increase from 175,366 in December and up from 174,552 a year ago.

The labor supply, those who would be available to staff a new or expanding business, was estimated at 17,095 people in the metro area, down from 18,725 in the prior month. 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 9,923 in January, according to the state’s virtual labor market data system. There were 9,717 open positions the previous month. A year ago, there were 12,277 openings.

Nonfarm wage and salaried worker levels in the Sioux Falls MSA fell by 3,700 people to 179,200 in January compared with the previous month. The largest decline was 5.6 percent in transportation, warehousing and utilities, with a loss of 500 jobs. Mining, logging and construction dropped 4.3 percent with 500 fewer jobs. No categories showed increases, with only manufacturing and the category of other services holding steady.

Compared with a year ago, the overall nonfarm wage and salaried worker level in the MSA was down by 100 people.

South Dakota’s unemployment rate was unchanged at 2.2 percent in January, remaining the lowest in the country along with Hawaii.

The District of Columbia had the highest unemployment rate at 6.7 percent, and the next-highest rate was 5.4 percent in California and Delaware.

South Dakota’s jobless rate, which is seasonally adjusted, represents 11,000 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. In December, the rate was 2.2 percent and there were 10,600 unemployed South Dakotans.

A year ago, the rate was 2 percent, and there were 9,600 unemployed residents.

In January, South Dakota’s labor force was 493,500, an increase of 900 people from December. A year ago, it was 479,700.

The labor supply, those who would be available to staff a new or expanding business, was estimated at 46,840 people. That’s down from 53,615 people in December and includes people who are not working and those who would like to change jobs.

The national unemployment rate was 4.3 percent in January, compared with 4 percent a year ago. It was 4.4 percent in December.