Oct. 31, 2024

The unemployment rate in the Sioux Falls metro area fell to 1.4 percent in September from 1.9 percent in August, tying its record low and ranking as the lowest rate in the country.

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

Rapid City had the second-lowest rate in the country at 1.6 percent in September. The metro area with the highest rate was El Centro, California, at 19.2 percent, up one-half of a percentage point from the previous month.

For the Sioux Falls metro area, which includes Minnehaha, Lincoln, McCook and Turner counties, the 1.4 percent unemployment rate  represents 2,279 people, according to the South Dakota Department of Labor & Regulation. In August, the number of unemployed was 3,131.

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 165,354 in September, down from 165,961 the previous month.

A year ago, the metro area jobless rate was 1.6 percent, with 2,663 people who were unemployed out of a labor force of 165,594.

The labor supply, those who would be available to staff a new or expanding business, was estimated at 15,545 people in the metro area, down from 16,505 in August. 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 12,367 in September, according to the state’s virtual labor market data system. There were 12,581 open positions the previous month. A year ago, there were 15,106 openings.

Nonfarm wage and salaried worker levels in the Sioux Falls MSA fell by 1,600 people to 172,600 from August to September. The category of leisure and hospitality saw the biggest decline at 3.9 percent, a loss of 700 jobs. Information declined by 3.8 percent, or 100 workers, and retail trade dropped by 3.6 percent, or 700 workers.

The biggest increase was government at 3.3 percent, or 500 jobs. The only other sector to see growth was private education and health services with an increase of 1.1 percent, or 400 jobs.

Compared with a year ago, overall nonfarm wage and salaried worker levels were down by 900 workers in the MSA.

South Dakota’s unemployment rate was unchanged in September 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 – unchanged from August. The District of Columbia had the highest jobless rate at 5.7 percent, followed by Nevada at 5.6 percent.

The state’s jobless rate, which is seasonally adjusted, represents 9,500 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 2.1 percent, and there were 9,900 unemployed South Dakotans.

In September, South Dakota’s labor force rose by 700 people to 484,000 from the previous month. A year ago, it was 481,600.

The labor supply, those who would be available to staff a new or expanding business, was estimated at 45,585 people. That’s down from 48,610 in August and includes people who are not working and those who would like to change jobs.

The national unemployment rate dipped to 4.1 percent in September from 4.2 percent in August. A year ago, the rate was 3.8 percent.