Jan. 26, 2026

The unemployment rate for the Sioux Falls metro area was 2 percent in November, up from 1.8 percent in September but still the lowest rate for all metros in the country.

The Rapid City metro was right behind Sioux Falls at 2.1 percent, up from 1.9 percent in September.

Comparisons to October are not available because much of that month’s data was not collected because of the federal government shutdown.

For the Sioux Falls metro area, which includes Minnehaha, Lincoln, McCook and Turner counties and Rock County in Minnesota, the 2 percent rate in November represents 3,547 unemployed people, according to the South Dakota Department of Labor & Regulation. In September, the number of unemployed was 3,181.

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 1.6 percent, with 2,781 unemployed people.

The total labor force for the Sioux Falls MSA, those who are employed and unemployed, was 175,484 in November, a decrease from 177,052 in September and 175,772 a year ago.

The labor supply, those who would be available to staff a new or expanding business, was estimated at 18,220 people in the metro area. 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 dropped to 10,633 in November, according to the state’s virtual labor market data system. There were 12,100 open positions the previous month. A year ago, there were 14,036 openings.

Nonfarm wage and salaried worker levels in the Sioux Falls MSA dropped by 1,300 people to 181,000 in November compared with the previous month. The largest decline was 4.7 percent in the leisure and hospitality category with 800 fewer jobs, followed by 4.4 percent in mining, logging and construction with 600 fewer jobs. The biggest percentage increase – 3.9 percent — was in transportation, warehouse and utilities, an increase of 300 jobs.

Compared with a year ago, the overall nonfarm wage and salaried worker level in the MSA was up by 500 people.

South Dakota’s unemployment rate was 2.1 percent in November, the lowest in the country. A year ago, it was 1.9 percent, and it was 2 percent in September.

The next-lowest rate was 2.2 percent in Hawaii. The District of Columbia had the highest unemployment rate at 6.5 percent, and the next-highest rate was in California at 5.5 percent.

South Dakota’s jobless rate, which is seasonally adjusted, represents 10,300 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 1.9 percent, and there were 9,100 unemployed South Dakotans.

In November, South Dakota’s labor force was 492,300. A year ago, it was 490,800.

The labor supply, those who would be available to staff a new or expanding business, was estimated at 52,605 people. That includes people who are not working and those who would like to change jobs.

The national unemployment rate was 4.6 percent in November, compared with 4.2 percent a year ago. It was 4.4 percent in September.