July 7, 2026
The unemployment rate in the Sioux Falls metro area ticked up to 1.8 percent in May from 1.7 percent in April — but remained the lowest in the country.
Sioux Falls shared the lowest rate with Bismarck, North Dakota, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
For the Sioux Falls metro area, which includes Minnehaha, Lincoln, McCook and Turner counties and Rock County in Minnesota, the 1.8 percent rate represents 3,179 unemployed people, according to the South Dakota Department of Labor & Regulation. In April, the number of unemployed was 3,059.
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.
A year ago, the metro area jobless rate was 1.8 percent, with 3,294 unemployed people.
The total labor force for the Sioux Falls MSA, those who are employed and unemployed, was 178,062 in May, an increase from 177,050 in April and down from 179,361 a year ago.
The number of job openings locally fell to 9,281 in May, according to the state’s virtual labor market data system. There were 10,425 open positions the previous month. A year ago, there were 10,847 openings.
Nonfarm wage and salaried worker levels in the Sioux Falls MSA rose by 2,700 people to 183,900 in May compared with the previous month, a 1.5 percent increase. The largest gains were 6.8 percent, or 800 jobs, in mining, logging and construction and 6.7 percent, or 1,200 jobs, in leisure and hospitality.
Compared with a year ago, mining, logging and construction was down 2.3 percent, or 300 jobs, while leisure and hospitality was up 1.6 percent, or 300 jobs.
The only category to show a month-over-month decline was professional services, down 1.1 percent, with 200 fewer jobs than in April.
Compared with a year ago, the overall nonfarm wage and salaried worker level in the MSA was down by 600 people.
South Dakota’s unemployment rate was 2.1 percent in May, down from 2.2 percent in April. It remained the lowest in the country, followed by North Dakota at 2.4 percent. The District of Columbia had the highest unemployment rate at 6.1 percent, and the next-highest rate was 5.3 percent in California.
South Dakota’s jobless rate, which is seasonally adjusted, represents 10,300 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. In April, there were 10,708 unemployed South Dakotans.
A year ago, the rate was 2 percent, and there were 9,800 unemployed residents.
In May, South Dakota’s labor force was 489,900, a decrease of 854 people from April and a drop of 1,300 from a year ago.
The labor supply, those who would be available to staff a new or expanding business, was estimated at 42,775, up from 40,930 people the previous month. That includes people who are not working, those who would like to change jobs and discouraged workers.
The national unemployment rate was 4.3 percent in May, unchanged from April and a year ago.
Sioux Falls Job Service is hosting weekly Career Connect events this month from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. The events are in Sioux Falls One Stop office at 1501 S. Highline Ave., Suite 1D.
Here’s the schedule for the remaining dates:
July 9: School Bus Inc.
July 16: All Trades Home Solutions
July 23: Stan Houston Equipment
To view open positions before the events, visit southdakotaworks.org.
Businesses interested in participating in future events should contact Paul Robson, business services specialist in the Sioux Falls Job Service office, at 605-910-4833.