May 6, 2024

Sioux Falls and Rapid City had the second-lowest unemployment rates in March for metro areas in the U.S.

Both were at 1.9 percent, with only Vermont’s metro area of Burlington and South Burlington lower at 1.6 percent, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

For the Sioux Falls metro area, which includes Minnehaha, Lincoln, McCook and Turner counties, that was a drop from 2.5 percent in February, according to the South Dakota Department of Labor & Regulation.

The Sioux Falls unemployment rate, which is not seasonally adjusted and is preliminary, represents 3,074 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. In February, the number of unemployed was 4,082.

The total labor force for the Sioux Falls MSA, those who are employed and unemployed, was 163,263 in March, up from 162,981 the previous month.

A year ago, the metro area jobless rate was 1.9 percent, with 3,029 people who were unemployed out of a labor force of 163,689.

The number of job openings in the Sioux Falls MSA rose to 13,188 in March, according to the state’s virtual labor market data system. There were 12,582 open positions the previous month. A year ago, there were 17,033 openings.

Nonfarm wage and salaried worker levels in the Sioux Falls MSA rose by 800 people to 170,900. The category of professional and business services saw the biggest increase at 1.8 percent, followed by mining, logging and construction at 1.7 percent. The biggest decline was 1.4 percent in financial activities.

Compared with a year ago, overall nonfarm wage and salaried worker levels were up 1.4 percent in the MSA.

South Dakota’s unemployment rate was unchanged in March at 2.1 percent.

Only North Dakota had a lower rate at 2 percent. California had the highest unemployment rate at 5.3 percent.

The state’s jobless rate, which is seasonally adjusted, represents 9,900 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 March, South Dakota’s labor force remained unchanged at 481,500. A year ago, it was 478,500.

The labor supply, those who would be available to staff a new or expanding business, was estimated at 43,865 people. That’s down 6 percent from 46,575 in February and includes people who are not working and those who would like to change jobs.

The national unemployment rate dropped to 3.8 percent in March from 3.9 percent in February. A year ago, the rate was 3.5 percent.