June 1, 2023

At 1.9 percent in April, South Dakota had the lowest unemployment rate in the United States for the second straight month.

The next lowest rate was in Nebraska at 2 percent, according to preliminary, seasonally adjusted data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Nevada again had the highest rate at 5.4 percent. The national rate was 3.4 percent, down from 3.5 percent the previous month. It was 3.6 percent a year ago.

South Dakota’s jobless rate of 1.9 percent, which is its record low, also was at that point in March and from February through April 2022. The state’s high of 8.8 percent was set in April 2020 at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The unemployment rate for the Sioux Falls metro area rose slightly in April to 1.8 percent, according to statistics from the South Dakota Department of Labor & Regulation. It was 1.7 percent in March.

The local unemployment rate, which isn’t seasonally adjusted, represents 2,971 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 March, the number of unemployed was 2,783.

The total labor force for the Sioux Falls MSA, those who are employed and unemployed, was 165,111 in April, up from 163,672 the previous month.

A year ago, the metro area jobless rate was 1.8 percent, with 2,839 people who were unemployed out of a labor force of 160,686.

The number of job openings in the Sioux Falls MSA fell to 15,832 in April, according to the state’s virtual labor market data system. That’s down from 16,592 open positions the previous month and significantly lower than 21,507 openings a year ago.

The Sioux Falls Job Service office will host two recruiting and hiring events in June. They’ll be from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Thursday and June 15 at the office, 811 E. 10th St. Job-seekers should bring a resume and be prepared to interview for open positions.

Business partners for Thursday’s event include Jer’s Appliance & Refrigeration Repair, Amazon, Palisade Healthcare Center, Get-N-Go/Blue Tide Car Wash and the U.S. Postal Service.

Business partners for the June 15 event include School Bus Inc., Maguire, Walmart, Dollar Tree and Preform Solutions.

To view open positions before the event, go to southdakotaworks.org.

Nonfarm wage and salaried worker levels in the Sioux Falls MSA rose from March to April by 2,500 people to 169,800, a gain of 1.5 percent. Mining, logging and construction saw the biggest growth at 7.3 percent, and professional and business services increased 5.7percent. All of the categories showed growth of were flat.

Compared with a year ago, nonfarm wage and salaried worker levels were up 2.4 percent in the MSA, which includes Minnehaha, Lincoln, McCook and Turner counties.

The statewide unemployment rate of 1.9 percent represents 9,000 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 also was 1.9 percent, and there were 9,100 unemployed South Dakotans.

In April, the statewide labor force grew by 1,600 workers to 478,800. A year ago, it was 475,500.

The labor supply, those who would be available to staff a new or expanding business, was estimated at 41,255 people. That’s a drop from 43,075 people in March and includes people are not working and those who would like to change jobs.