Sept. 8, 2025
Dipping back to 1.7 percent, the unemployment rate for July in the Sioux Falls metro area continues to be the lowest in the country.
The jobless rate was 1.8 percent in June, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Rapid City tied with Sioux Falls at the No. 1 spot for metro areas, dropping to 1.7 percent in July from 1.9 percent the previous month. Of the 387 metro areas in the U.S., 31 had jobless rates of less than 3 percent in July.
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 3,098 unemployed people, according to the South Dakota Department of Labor & Regulation. In June, the number of unemployed was 3,248.
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 179,895 in July, an increase from 179,124 in June.
A year ago, the metro area jobless rate was 1.6 percent, with 2,818 unemployed people.
The labor supply, those who would be available to staff a new or expanding business, was estimated at 17,465 people in the metro area, up from 15,195 in June. 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 rose to 11,014 in July, according to the state’s virtual labor market data system. There were 10,489 open positions the previous month. A year ago, there were 12,008 openings.
Nonfarm wage and salaried worker levels in the Sioux Falls MSA dropped by 2,100 people to 180,900 in July compared with the previous month. The biggest percentage decline – 10.8 percent — was in the government category with 1,900 fewer jobs. The largest increases at 1.4 percent were in financial activities, a gain of 200 jobs, and the category of other services, a gain of 100 jobs.
Compared with a year ago, overall nonfarm wage and salaried worker levels were unchanged in the MSA.
South Dakota’s unemployment rate rose to 1.9 percent in July from 1.8 percent in June, remaining as the lowest rate in the country.
The next-lowest rate was North Dakota at 2.5 percent. The District of Columbia had the highest unemployment rate at 6 percent, and the next-highest rate was in California at 5.5 percent.
South Dakota’s jobless rate, which is seasonally adjusted, 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 was 1.8 percent, and there were 8,900 unemployed South Dakotans.
In July, South Dakota’s labor force dropped by 600 people to 493,300 from the previous month. A year ago, it was 489,200.
The labor supply, those who would be available to staff a new or expanding business, was estimated at 50,200 people. That’s up from 42,770 in June and includes people who are not working and those who would like to change jobs.
The national unemployment rate rose to 4.2 percent from 4.1 percent the previous month. It was unchanged from a year ago.