Sept. 23, 2022

The unemployment rate for the Sioux Falls metro area rose in August from its nation-leading low in July.

August’s jobless rate was 2 percent, up from 1.7 percent the previous month, according to statistics from the South Dakota Department of Labor & Regulation.

The local unemployment rate for August, which isn’t seasonally adjusted, represents 3,332 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 July, that figure was 2,756.

The total labor force for the Sioux Falls MSA, those who are employed and unemployed, was 165,402 in August, down slightly from 165,625 in July.

A year ago, the metro area jobless rate was 2.7 percent, with 4,365 people who were unemployed out of a labor force of 155,029.

Nonfarm wage and salaried worker levels in the metro area rose from July to August from 170,000 to 170,600 people, less than a percentage point. The category of information saw the biggest increase at 3.9 percent, a gain of 100 workers from July. Professional and business services rose 2.3 percent, a gain of 400 workers in the month.

Mining, logging and construction saw the sharpest decline at 1.7 percent, a loss of 200 workers compared with July.

Compared with a year ago, nonfarm wage and salaried worker levels were up 4 percent in the Sioux Falls area.

In the MSA, which includes Minnehaha, Lincoln, McCook and Turner counties, there were 18,642 job openings in August, according to the state’s virtual labor market data system, which pulls in information from online job postings. That compares with 22,168 openings in the previous month and 17,049 openings a year ago.

The statewide unemployment rate for August, which is seasonally adjusted, remained unchanged at 2.3 percent.

August’s rate 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. A year ago, the rate was 3.2 percent, and there were 14,900 unemployed South Dakotans.

The statewide labor force has grown in the past year from 469,500 to 478,400.

The national unemployment rate in August rose to 3.7 percent from 3.5 percent in July. A year ago, it was 5.2 percent.

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