At 1.7 percent unemployment, local metro regains No. 1 spot
Sioux Falls, Rapid City and Bismarck, North Dakota, all had rates of 1.7 percent. In September, the Sioux Falls metro area reclaimed its spot as one of the areas with the lowest jobless rate in the U.S.
For the Sioux Falls metro area, which includes Minnehaha, Lincoln, McCook and Turner counties and Rock County in Minnesota, the 1.7 percent rate represents 2,920 unemployed people, according to the South Dakota Department of Labor & Regulation.
The jobless rate is not seasonally adjusted and is preliminary, representing residents who do not have jobs, have actively looked for one in the past four weeks and are available to work.
A year ago, the metro area jobless rate was 1.8 percent, with 3,191 unemployed people.
The total labor force for the Sioux Falls MSA was 174,967 in September, a drop from 177,228 in August and 180,032 a year ago.
The number of job openings locally rose to 10,617 in September, up from 9,699 the previous month.
Nonfarm wage and salaried worker levels in the Sioux Falls MSA fell by 1,000 people to 183,600 in September compared with the previous month, a 0.5 percent decline.
Compared with a year ago, South Dakota’s unemployment rate remained at 2 percent, the lowest rate in the country, followed by North Dakota at 2.2 percent.
South Dakota’s 2 percent unemployment rate represents 9,600 people who do not have jobs, have actively looked for one in the past four weeks and are available to work.
The labor force in South Dakota was 484,700 in September, a decrease of 1,200 people from August and 9,000 from a year ago.
The labor supply, estimated at 49,230, was down from 51,650 people.