March 11, 2022

The unemployment rate for the Sioux Falls metro area rose to 2.5 percent in January, compared with 2 percent in December.

The jobless rate represents 4,014 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. The total labor force, those who are employed and unemployed, is 158,401, according to statistics from the South Dakota Department of Labor & Regulation that have not been seasonally adjusted.

In December, there were 3,232 people who were unemployed out of a labor force of 159,252.

In January 2021, the unemployment rate was 3 percent, and there were 4,716 people who were out of work.

Nonfarm wage and salaried worker levels in the metro area dropped from December to January by 2,600 people to 160,200, a loss of 1.6 percent. The biggest drops were in sectors that experience seasonal fluctuations:

• The category of mining, logging and construction saw the biggest drop at 9.7 percent, a loss of 1,000 workers from December.
• The subcategory of transportation, warehousing and utilities dropped 6.6 percent, a loss of 400 workers.
• The professional and business services category shed 1,100 workers in December and 700 people in January.

The only category to show a gain was leisure and hospitality, which grew by 200 workers, or 1.4 percent. That’s up 11.1 percent from a year ago, reflecting businesses that are rebuilding staff sizes as the recovery from the pandemic continues.

Compared with a year ago, nonfarm wage and salaried worker levels are up 2.7 percent in the Sioux Falls area.

In the Sioux Falls area, there were 18,910 job openings in February, according to the state’s virtual labor market data system, which pulls in information from online job postings. That compares with 14,490 openings a year ago.

The state’s seasonally adjusted jobless rate was 2.8 percent in January, down from a revised 2.9 percent in December. That represents 13,000 people who do not have jobs, have actively looked for one in the past four weeks and are available to work. A year ago, the rate was 3.3 percent, and there were 15,200 unemployed South Dakotans.

Of the state’s 12 largest cities, Watertown had the highest unemployment rate in January at 3.1 percent, followed by Aberdeen and Huron, each at 3 percent. Spearfish had the lowest rate at 2 percent.

The national unemployment rate in January was 4 percent, compared with 6.4 percent a year ago. It was 3.9 percent in December.