May 1, 2023

At 1.9 percent, South Dakota had the lowest unemployment rate in the United States in March.

The next lowest rates, which are seasonally adjusted, were in North Dakota and Nebraska at 2.1 percent, according to preliminary data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Nevada had the highest rate at 5.5 percent. The national rate was 3.5 percent, down from 3.6 percent the previous month and the same as March 2022.

South Dakota’s jobless rate of 1.9 percent, which is its record low, also was at that point from February through April 2022 and has hovered around 2 percent since then. 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 dipped to 1.7 percent in March, according to statistics from the South Dakota Department of Labor & Regulation. The jobless rate in February was 2.3 percent.

The local unemployment rate, which isn’t seasonally adjusted, represents 2,783 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 February, the number of unemployed was 3,725.

The total labor force for the Sioux Falls MSA, those who are employed and unemployed, was 163,672 in March, up from 162,131 the previous month.

A year ago, the metro area jobless rate was 2 percent, with 3,188 people who were unemployed out of a labor force of 161,008.

The number of job openings in the Sioux Falls MSA rose to 16,592 in March, according to the state’s virtual labor market data system. That’s up from 16,231 open positions the previous month, but down significantly from 22,404 openings a year ago.

The Sioux Falls Job Service office will host two recruiting and hiring events this month. They’ll be from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Thursday and May 18 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 BX Civil & Construction, United Ground Express, Levo Federal Credit Union, Electronic Systems Inc. and Smart Financial.

Business partners for the May 18 event include the South Dakota Bureau of Human Resources, Aerostar, U.S. Infrastructure Co., Sioux Falls VA Health Care System and Kwik Star.

Nonfarm wage and salaried worker levels in the Sioux Falls MSA rose from February to March by 300 people to 167,700, less than 1 percent. Mining, logging and construction saw the biggest growth at 3.2 percent, and “other services” increased 3.1 percent. Professional and business services declined the most, falling 3.1 percent.

Compared with a year ago, nonfarm wage and salaried worker levels were up 2.3 percent in the MSA, which includes Minnehaha, Lincoln, McCook and Turner counties.

The statewide unemployment rate of 1.9 percent in March was down from 2.1 percent in February.

The rate represents 9,200 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 9,000 unemployed South Dakotans.

In March, the statewide labor force grew by 1,200 workers to 477,200. A year ago, it was 474,600.

The labor supply, those who would be available to staff a new or expanding business, was estimated at 43,075 people. That’s a drop from 46,130 people in February and includes people are not working and those who would like to change jobs.

The most recent quarterly report on business employment dynamics from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics provided a snapshot of private sector job growth in South Dakota. With job gains of 26,906 positions in the third quarter of 2022 and job losses of 23,650, the state had a net gain of 3,256 private sector positions.