Marcia Hultman

Cabinet Secretary

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Labor Market Information Center

Definitions

Click on a letter below to see definition entries beginning with that letter.

Annual Pay
Annual pay of workers covered by reemployment assistance benefits laws, which is derived by dividing the total pay of all covered workers by the average monthly number of covered workers. Covered employment and pay are reported by all covered employers each quarter and available through the Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages program conducted in cooperation with the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Annual pay data is developed by the South Dakota Department of Labor and Regulation. See technical notes.

Annual Refiling Survey (ARS)

The Annual Refiling Survey is conducted in cooperation with the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) as a component of the Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages. The ARS helps ensure businesses are appropriately categorized by industry, which in turn helps ensure the labor market statistics produced and published by industry are accurate and reflective of the economy. Frequently asked questions about the ARS are answered on the BLS website. Employers asked to complete the ARS are encouraged to participate online as a cost-saving measure.

Average Weekly Earnings (available on the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics website)
Average earnings, on a weekly basis, of nonfarm wage and salaried production workers. They are gross figures and reflect not only changes in basic hourly and incentive wage rates but also such variable factors as premium pay for over-time and late-shift work and changes in output of workers paid on an incentive plan. They also reflect shifts in the number of employees between relatively high-paid and low-paid work and changes in workers' earnings in individual establishments. Averages for groups and divisions further reflect differences in average weekly earnings for individual industries. Average weekly earnings are derived from a sample of employers who report payrolls and hours for production workers each month. Average weekly earnings data are produced by the Labor Market Information Center in cooperation with the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Annual Weekly Hours (available on the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics website)
The average number of hours worked, on a weekly basis, by nonfarm wage and salaried production workers. The information relates to the average hours for which pay was received and is different from standard or scheduled hours. Factors such as unpaid absenteeism, labor turnover, part-time work and stoppages cause average weekly hours to be lower than scheduled hours of work for an establishment. Group averages further reflect changes in the work week among component industries. Average weekly hours are derived from a sample of employers who report payrolls and hours for production workers each month. Annual weekly hours data are produced by the Labor Market Information Center in cooperation with the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Average Hourly Earnings (available on the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics website)
Average earnings, on an hourly basis, of nonfarm wage and salaried production workers. They are gross figures and reflect not only changes in basic hourly and incentive wage rates but also such variable factors as premium pay for over-time and late-shift work and changes in output of workers paid on an incentive plan. They also reflect shifts in the number of employees between relatively high-paid and low-paid work and changes in workers' earnings in individual establishments. Averages for groups and divisions further reflect differences in average hourly earnings for individual industries. Average hourly earnings are derived from a sample of employers who report payrolls and hours for production workers each month. Average hourly earnings data are produced by the Labor Market Information Center in cooperation with the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Average Wage
The average wage of an occupation is also referred to as the mean wage. It represents the arithmetic mean of the wage data collected, calculated by dividing the estimated total wages for an occupation by the number of workers in that occupation.

Balance of State (BOS) Areas for occupational wage estimates are East South Dakota and West South Dakota. Listed below are the counties included in each of the Balance of State Areas for which occupational wage estimates are available.

East Balance of State Area - Aurora, Beadle, Bon Homme, Brookings, Brown, Clark, Clay, Codington, Davison, Day, Deuel, Edmunds, Faulk, Grant, Hamlin, Hanson, Hutchinson, Jerauld, Kingsbury, Lake, Marshall, McPherson, Miner, Moody, Roberts, Sanborn, Spink and Yankton counties.

West Balance of State Area - Bennett, Brule, Buffalo, Butte, Campbell, Charles Mix, Corson, Dewey, Douglas, Fall River, Gregory, Haakon, Hand, Harding, Hughes, Hyde, Jackson, Jones, Lawrence, Lyman, Mellette, Oglala Lakota, Perkins, Potter, Stanley, Sully, Todd, Tripp, Walworth and Ziebach counties.

Balance of State (BOS) Area for employment projections data includes the counties listed below. (Within the virtual labor market data system, the Balance of State projections data is available by first selecting the Area Type "Broad Geographic Area.")

Balance of State Area for projections data includes the following counties: Aurora, Beadle, Bennett, Bon Homme, Brookings, Brown, Brule, Buffalo, Butte, Campbell, Charles Mix, Clark, Clay, Codington, Corson, Davison, Day, Deuel, Dewey, Douglas, Edmunds, Fall River, Faulk, Grant, Gregory, Haakon, Hamlin, Hand, Hanson, Harding, Hughes, Hutchinson, Hyde, Jackson, Jerauld, Jones, Kingsbury, Lake, Lawrence, Lyman, Marshall, McPherson, Mellette, Miner, Moody, Oglala Lakota, Perkins, Potter, Roberts, Sanborn, Spink, Stanley, Sully, Todd, Tripp, Union, Walworth, Yankton and Ziebach.

See the list of counties in each MSA.

Benchmarking
Once a year estimates published as "preliminary" and "subject to revision" (such as nonfarm wage and salaried worker levels or labor force data) have to be benchmarked (or revised) using data from other sources that were not available at the time of estimation, such as reemployment assistance tax records and results of surveys conducted on employers not covered by reemployment assistance. The benchmarking sources show actual employment counts and are used to revise estimated data. Revised estimates are then published, replacing all previously published data.

Broad Geographic Area
Industry and occupational employment projections are available for statewide South Dakota, the two Metropolitan Statistical Areas and one sub-state area identified in the virtual labor market system as Area Type Broad Geographic Area. Within the employment projections data, the Broad Geographic Area Area Type is for the Balance of State Area including the following counties (those counties not included in the Metropolitan Statistical Area):

Aurora, Beadle, Bennett, Bon Homme, Brookings, Brown, Brule, Buffalo, Butte, Campbell, Charles Mix, Clark, Clay, Codington, Corson, Davison, Day, Deuel, Dewey, Douglas, Edmunds, Fall River, Faulk, Grant, Gregory, Haakon, Hamlin, Hand, Hanson, Harding, Hughes, Hutchinson, Hyde, Jackson, Jerauld, Jones, Kingsbury, Lake, Lawrence, Lyman, Marshall, McPherson, Mellette, Miner, Moody, Oglala Lakota, Perkins, Potter, Roberts, Sanborn, Spink, Stanley, Sully, Todd, Tripp, Union, Walworth, Yankton and Ziebach.

Candidates (as included in the virtual labor market data system)
Individuals with active résumés in the workforce system (SDWORKS, the state's online job bank provided and managed by the South Dakota Department of Labor and Regulation) on the previous day.

Combined Statistical Area (CSA)
A Combined Statistical Area (CSA) is a grouping of adjacent metropolitan and/or micropolitan statistical areas in the United States and Puerto Rico. The United States Office of Management and Budget defines combined statistical areas based on social and economic ties measured by commuting patterns between adjacent Metropolitan Statistical Areas (MSAs). The areas that combine retain their own designations as metropolitan or micropolitan statistical areas within the larger combined statistical area. The primary distinguishing factor between a CSA and an MSA is that the social and economic ties between the individual MSAs within a CSA are at lower levels than between the counties within an MSA. CSAs represent multiple metropolitan or micropolitan areas that have a moderate degree of employment interchange. CSAs often represent regions with overlapping labor and media markets.

Rapid City-Spearfish CSA - Custer, Lawrence, Meade and Pennington counties

Consumer Price Index (CPI) Inflation Calculator
The CPI inflation calculator uses the average Consumer Price Index for a given calendar year. This data represents changes in prices of all goods and services purchased for consumption by urban households. This index value has been calculated every year since 1913. For the current year, the latest monthly index value is used.

Covered Workers
Workers covered by South Dakota Reemployment Assistance laws. Employers are required to report monthly employment and quarterly payrolls. The reported data is used in the Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages program conducted by the Labor Market Information Center in cooperation with the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics to determine number of workers and annual pay by industry group. See technical notes for more information.

Current Employment Statistics (CES)
The Current Employment Statistics (CES) program is a federal-state cooperative program between the Labor Market Information Center and the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics that produces estimated and historical time series data on employment for multiple types of industries. Learn more about the CES program.

Educational Levels Recommended
The recommended educational level for each occupation best describes the typical level of education most workers need to be competitive in the job market for the occupation. The recommended educational level of occupations for which South Dakota data is published on this website and in our publications are based largely on designations by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). Late in 2018, the Labor Market Information Center organized a workgroup of representatives from multiple agencies to review all the occupational education levels. In a number of cases, the workgroup reached a consensus a different recommended educational level would be more reflective of the state labor market. The following are the recommended educational levels used. Please note, in some cases, work experience in the field or closely related field may be needed for an occupation in addition to the education recommended.

Less than high school - This category signifies the completion of any level of primary or secondary education that did not result in the award of a high school diploma or equivalent. Examples of occupations in this category include dishwashers, cashiers and carpenter helpers.

High school diploma or equivalent - This category indicates the completion of high school or an equivalent program resulting in the award of a high school diploma or an equivalent, such as the General Education Development (GED®) credential. Examples of occupations in this category include file clerks, pipelayers and team assemblers.

Some post high school education (less than an associate degree) - This category includes achievement of a high school diploma or equivalent plus the completion of some education or training beyond high school, but less than the level at which an associate degree is earned. The post high school education completed may range from a short-term occupationally-specific training course (not limited to those offered at traditional postsecondary institutions) to one or more postsecondary courses not resulting in a degree or award, to a complete program that leads to a certificate, diploma or other award, but not an associate degree. Some of these programs last only a few weeks, while others may last one to two years. This category also includes apprenticeship training. Examples of occupations in this category include dental assistants, electricians and police officers.

Associate degree - Completion of this degree usually requires at least two years but less than four years of full-time academic study beyond high school. Examples of occupations in this category include mechanical drafters, respiratory therapy technicians and dental hygienists.

Bachelor's degree - Completion of this degree generally requires at least four years, but not more than five years, of full-time academic study beyond high school. Examples of occupations in this category include budget analysts, dietitians and nutritionists and civil engineers.

Master's degree - Completion of this degree usually requires one or two years of full-time academic study beyond a bachelor's degree. Examples of occupations in this category include statisticians, physician assistants, and educational, guidance, school and vocational counselors.

Doctoral or professional degree - Completion of a doctoral degree (Ph.D.) usually requires at least three years of full-time academic work beyond a bachelor's degree. Examples of occupations for which a doctoral or professional degree is the typical form of entry-level education include lawyers, physicists and dentists.

Learn more about the BLS-determined educational levels on the BLS website.

Employed
People residing in a specific area who are 16 years of age and older and who have a job. A more technical definition is the number of people who, during the calendar week including the 12th day of each month, did any work at all as paid employees or in their own business, profession, or on their own farm, or who worked 15 hours or more as an unpaid worker in a family-operated enterprise. This employed estimate also includes all those who did not work but had jobs or businesses from which they were temporarily absent due to illness, bad weather, vacation, labor-management dispute or various personal reasons. The resident employed is calculated by the Labor Market Information Center in cooperation with the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. See labor force technical notes for more information.

Establishment
An economic unit (generally at a single physical location) or worksite where business is conducted or where services or industrial operations are performed. A worksite generally conducts predominantly one type of economic activity. (For example: a factory, store, hotel, farm, bank or sales office.)

Establishment Size
The average number of workers at the establishment or worksite location determines establishment size. (See definition of "establishment" above.)

Hot Careers
Occupations identified by the Labor Market Information Center as "Hot Careers" in South Dakota are those which are projected to have the greatest demand for workers and currently have high wages. Specifically, Hot Careers must:

1. be projected to show employment growth

2. be among the 30 occupations with the highest projected demand for workers (2016-2026) and

3. have an average wage above the median wage across all occupations ($32,338) using 2017 wage data.

For more information on average annual demand, visit our Employment Projections Technical Notes page. For more information on wage estimates, visit our Occupational Wages Technical Notes page.

Job Openings (as included in the virtual labor market data system)
The source of the online-advertised jobs data in the virtual labor market data system is Geographic Solutions, the private vendor and source of that system. Geographic Solutions uses job "spidering" to collect the jobs data, a process that extracts content from jobs posted on the internet from a wide variety of sources. Geographic Solutions' spidering technology obtains jobs and real-time labor market intelligence from multiple sources of online job posting websites including, but not limited to, national and state job boards, existing public job listing sites and employer sites. To ensure quality data, their approach uses a well-designed, quality spidering strategy that directs the research and development of spidering and parsing processes. They identify quality sources and enforce controlled procedures for gathering and organizing job data. They constantly review and update this data for accuracy and freshness of the job postings. Geographic Solutions spiders and updates real-time, job-related data daily. The spidering process currently captures South Dakota job openings data from Career Builder, Hot Jobs, America's Labor Exchange, Job Central, Fortune 500 corporations, and state job boards (including SDWORKS, the state's online job bank provided and managed by the South Dakota Department of Labor and Regulation).

Labor Force
Labor force estimates include all civilians not in institutions, 16 years of age and older, who are classified as employed or unemployed. Labor force levels are given by place of residence and represent a count of employed and unemployed people. Labor force estimates are developed by the Labor Market Information Center in cooperation with the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. See technical notes for more information.

Labor Market Area (LMA)
An economically integrated geographic area within which individuals can reside and find employment within a reasonable distance or can readily change employment without changing their place of residence.

Dewey-Ziebach LMA - Dewey and Ziebach counties

Labor Supply
Labor supply can be defined as the number of persons who would be available to staff a new or expanding business in an area. Labor supply can be categorized into two groups: those who currently hold jobs (but may be willing to change) and those who, for a variety of reasons, do not have jobs. It includes workers who live in the area and also workers who would commute into the area to work. Labor supply data is developed by the Labor Market Information Center. See technical notes.

Local Area Unemployment Statistics (LAUS)
The Local Area Unemployment Statistics (LAUS) program is a federal-state cooperative program between the Labor Market Information Center and the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics that produces monthly estimates of employment and unemployment levels plus the unemployment rate. Learn more about the LAUS program.

Median Household Income divides the income distribution into two equal parts: one-half of the cases falling below the median income and one-half above the median. This includes the income of the householder and all other individuals 15 years old and over in the household, whether they are related to the householder or not. Source: U.S. Census Bureau

Mean Wage
The mean wage of an occupation is also referred to as the average wage. It represents the arithmetic mean of the wage data collected, calculated by dividing the estimated total wages for an occupation by the number of workers in that occupation.

Median Wage
The median wage of an occupation is also referred to as the 50th percentile wage. It represents the wage at which 50 percent of workers in the occupation earn less than or equal to the amount; 50 percent earn more.

Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA)
Areas qualifying as a Metropolitan Statistical Area according to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) must have at least one urbanized area with a population of 50,000 or more, plus adjacent territory that has a high degree of social and economic integration with the core as measured by commuting ties.

Rapid City MSA - Custer, Meade and Pennington counties

Sioux Falls MSA - Lincoln, Minnehaha, McCook and Turner counties (The U.S. Office of Management and Budget has added Rock County of Minnesota to the Sioux Falls MSA; various labor market data sets will reflect the new MSA designation beginning in January 2025.)

Sioux City MSA (cross-state) - Union County, South Dakota; Plymouth and Woodbury counties of Iowa; and Dakota and Dixon counties of Nebraska. The Iowa Labor Market Information Division is responsible for gathering and compiling employment and wage data for the Sioux City cross-state MSA. Any questions regarding the Sioux City data should be directed to the Iowa Labor Market Information Division by calling 515.242.5862 or by visiting their website.

Micropolitan Statistical Area (MiSA)
Areas qualifying as a Micropolitan Statistical Area according to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) must have at least one urban cluster with a population of at least 10,000 but less than 50,000, plus adjacent territory with a high degree of social and economic integration with the core as measured by commuting ties.

Aberdeen MiSA - Brown and Edmunds counties

Brookings MiSA - Brookings County

Huron MiSA - Beadle County

Mitchell MiSA* - Davison and Hanson counties (Sanborn County being added soon; see note below*.)

Pierre MiSA* - Hughes, Stanley and Sully counties (Sully County being eliminated soon; see note below*.)

Spearfish MiSA - Lawrence County

Vermillion MiSA - Clay County

Watertown MiSA - Codington County

Yankton MiSA - Yankton County

*Based on 2020 Census data, OMB has added Sanborn County to the Mitchell MiSA and eliminated Sully County from the Pierre MiSA. Various labor market data sets will be reflecting the new MiSA designations beginning in January 2025.

NAICS
North American Industry Classification System. NAICS categorizes businesses into one of 20 sectors. Each sector is represented by a two-digit NAICS code. For example, the two-digit code 72 represents Accommodation and Food Services. Businesses are then classified into more specific categories within a sector, represented by codes up to six digits. The more digits a code has, the more specific the business activity. The fifth and sixth digits represent industries at the international (United States, Canada and Mexico) and national level. The table below identifies the terminology used for each NAICS digit level. Learn more about the NAICS on our NAICS Overview page.

NAICS Hierarchy	Number of Digits	Example
Sector	2	72 - Accommodation and Food Services
Subsector	3	722 - Food Services and Drinking Places
Industry Group	4	7223 - Special Food Services
International Industry	5	72232 - Caterers
U.S. National Industry	6	722320 - Caterers

In addition, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics grouped the 20 two-digit NAICS sectors into broader categories to form 11 supersectors for analysis purposes only. In the above table, the Accommodation and Food Services sector would be part of the Leisure and Hospitality supersector (along with the Arts, Entertainment and Recreation sector).

National Economic Indicators (Published in the South Dakota e-Labor Bulletin.)

Consumer Price Index
Both the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) and the Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W) produced by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) are published on the Labor Market Information Center website. The Consumer Price Index is based on a national survey conducted by the BLS that measures the average change in prices over time in a fixed market basket of goods and services, chosen to be representative of goods and services purchased by American families for day-to-day living. The CPI is the most commonly used measure of the rate of inflation. The CPI reflects spending patterns for each of two population groups: all urban consumers and urban wage earners and clerical workers. The all urban consumers group represents about 89 percent of the total U.S. population. It is based on the expenditures of almost all residents of urban or metropolitan areas, including professionals, the self-employed, the poor, the unemployed and retired persons as well as urban wage earners and clerical workers. Not included in the CPI are the spending patterns of persons living in rural nonmetropolitan areas, farm families, persons in the Armed Forces, and those in institutions, such as prisons and mental hospitals. The CPI-W is based on the expenditures of households included in the CPI-U definition that also meet two requirements: More than one-half of the household's income must come from clerical or wage occupations and at least one of the household's earners must have been employed for at least 37 weeks during the previous 12 months. The CPI-W's population represents about 28 percent of the total U.S. population and is a subset, or part, of the CPI-U's population. Most specific CPI indexes have a 1982-1984 reference base, 1982-84 = 100.

Nonfarm Payroll Employment
Published in terms of millions of workers. Not seasonally adjusted. Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Privately Owned Housing Starts
Estimate of privately-owned housing starts, including units in residential structures being totally rebuilt on an existing foundation. (The start of construction is when excavation begins for the footings or foundation of a building.) Seasonally adjusted rates. Published in thousands of units. Source: U.S. Census Bureau.

Bank Prime Loan Rate
The rate posted by a majority of top 25 (by assets in domestic offices) insured U.S.-chartered commercial banks. Prime is one of several base rates used by banks to price short-term business loans. Source: Federal Reserve Board.

Nonfarm Wage and Salaried Workers
Nonfarm wage and salaried workers estimates include all nonfarm full-time and part-time wage earners but exclude the self-employed and unpaid family workers. Persons holding more than one job are counted in each establishment in which they work. Statewide and MSA nonfarm wage and salaried workers estimates are developed cooperatively by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics and the Labor Market Information Center. See technical notes for more information.

Not Seasonally Adjusted
Over the course of a year, employment levels undergo sharp fluctuations due to such seasonal events as changes in weather, reduced or expanded production, harvests, major holidays and the opening and closing of schools. Data that is not seasonally adjusted reflects these seasonal events, unlike data that has undergone seasonal adjustment.

Occupational Descriptions
See descriptions of occupations in the Standard Occupational Classification (SOC) taxonomy in code order.
See descriptions of occupations in the Standard Occupational Classification (SOC) taxonomy in alphabetical order .

Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS), formerly the Occupational Employment Statistics (OES)
The Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) program is a federal-state cooperative program between the Labor Market Information Center and the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics that produces estimates for the number of people employed in certain occupations and the wages paid. Learn more about the OEWS program.

Occupational Wages
Refers to a unit of compensation for the performance of labor, such as an hourly wage or annual salary, but does not include overtime, bonus pay or the value of benefits paid to workers. Occupational wage rates are developed by the Labor Market Information Center in cooperation with the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. See technical notes for more information, including an explanation of percentile wage data.

Per Capita (Personal) Income
The personal income of the residents of a state divided by the July 1 resident population of the state. (See the definition of total personal income below.) Source: U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis.

Percentile Wages
Percentile Wages: represents the percentage of an occupation's workers who earn less than or equal to that wage. For certain occupations, the upper percentile wages may not be available because of disclosure concerns or reliability issues. See technical notes for more information.

Total (Personal) Income
Income received by persons from all sources. It includes income received from participation in production as well as from government and business transfer payments. It is the sum of compensation of employees (received), supplements to wages and salaries, proprietors' income with inventory valuation adjustment (IVA) and capital consumption adjustment (CCAdj), rental income of persons with CCAdj, personal income receipts on assets, and personal current transfer receipts, less contributions for government social insurance. Source: U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis.

Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages (QCEW)
The Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages (QCEW) program is a federal-state cooperative program between the Labor Market Information Center and the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics that produces quarterly and annual counts of employment and wages by industry. Learn more about the QCEW program.

Seasonally Adjusted
Over the course of a year, employment levels undergo sharp fluctuations due to such seasonal events as changes in weather, reduced or expanded production, harvests, major holidays and the opening and closing of schools. Because these seasonal events follow a more or less regular pattern each year, their influence on statistical trends can be eliminated by adjusting the statistics from month-to-month. See labor force technical notes or nonfarm worker data technical notes for more information.

SOC
Standard Occupational Classification. Federal agencies use the SOC system to classify workers into occupational categories. Workers are classified into one of 840 detailed occupations by the type of work performed, and in some cases the skills, education and/or training used. These detailed occupations are combined into broad occupations, then minor groups and finally major groups. The table below illustrates the terminology used for each SOC level.

SOC Hierarchy	SOC Code	Title
Major Group	25-0000	Education, Training and Library Occupations
Minor Group	25-1000	Postsecondary Teachers
Broad Occupation	25-1070	Health Teachers, Postsecondary
Detailed Occupation	25-1072	Nursing Instructors and Teachers, Postsecondary

See descriptions of occupations in the Standard Occupational Classification (SOC) taxonomy in code order.

See descriptions of occupations in the Standard Occupational Classification (SOC) taxonomy in alphabetical order.

For more information on the SOC, please see our SOC Overview page or visit the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics website.

South Dakota Employment Service Activities (Published in the South Dakota e-Labor Bulletin.)
The employment services data are extracted from the virtual labor market data system and administrative reports available from SDWORKS (the state's online job bank provided and managed by the South Dakota Department of Labor and Regulation) and include activities offered at Job Service offices across the state. The terms are defined as follows, listed in the same order of appearance in the table:

Job Openings - All jobs advertised online in South Dakota on a single day during the week of the 12th of the given month.

Candidates - Individuals with active résumés in the workforce system (SDWORKS) on a single day during the week of the 12th of the given month.

Candidates Per Job Opening - Percentage of candidates to job openings on a single day during the week of the 12th of the given month.

Self-service Job Search through SDWORKS - Online usage of SDWORKS by individuals to search for jobs. Usage is tracked by the system.

Referrals to Jobs with Duration Over 150 Days - Bringing to the attention of an employer a participant or group of participants who are available for job openings in which the job is expected to last more than 150 days (excluding temporary or short-term jobs). The referral may be done via telephone or electronically but is not the same things as simply providing an individual with information about the job opening.

Staff Notification to Jobseekers of Potential Job - Department of Labor and Regulation staff, after matching potential candidates to current job postings, send notifications to registered job seekers of potential matching to one or more current job openings, with instructions for follow-up activity.

Referrals to Jobs Not Listed in SDWORKS - Referrals of individual job seekers to external job postings not posted specifically in SDWORKS, but are accessible via outside job boards, websites, etc.

Providing Other Information - Providing readily available information to an individual that does not require an assessment by a staff member. Examples include providing information about a resource room, providing assistance with the website, time spent with a non-participant, testing required by an employer, providing application forms, collecting applications/résumés, or providing information on training programs.

Viewing Resumes Available Within SDWORKS - Employers who are registered in SDWORKS and have active job postings are able to log into their SDWORKS account and perform searches for potential matches to posted job openings and view résumés of registered job seekers who have authorized the sharing of their online résumés.

Referring Qualified Applicants for Job Openings - Department of Labor and Regulation staff notify employers with active job postings of qualified job seekers who match the qualifications listed in the job postings.

Workforce Recruitment Assistance - Assisting businesses in meeting their workforce needs and supporting their search for qualified candidates through the following types of activities: securing information on job requirements, providing businesses with Job Service staff support for candidate pre-employment interviews at the Job Service office or on site at the place of business; conducting special recruitment efforts including out-of-area or out-of-state recruitment for candidates with special skills, providing employers with meeting/work space at the Job Service office for screening or interviewing, and explaining labor and employment laws to help employers comply with labor regulations.

Accessing Untapped Labor Pools - Assisting businesses in recruiting workers from non-traditional labor pools through activities such as Outreach to youth, veterans, individuals with disabilities, older workers, ex-offenders and other targeted demographic groups, industry awareness campaigns, joint partnerships with high schools, community colleges or other education programs to improve skill levels, and programs to address limited English proficiency and vocational training.

Tourism Industry
"Tourism" is not a specific industry sector in the North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) taxonomy used in labor market data (such as worker levels by industry); instead, "tourism" involves several different industry sectors (such as Leisure and Hospitality, Retail Trade, etc.). LMIC-published employment data within those industries that is related to vacation travel cannot be distinguished from that which is not related to vacation travel. For example, employment in the Food Services and Drinking Places industry cannot be broken out into tourist-related employment and non-tourist related. Another difficulty in identifying tourism's impact on specific industry sectors is due to tourism's seasonal patterns. It can be a challenge to define how many jobs during a specific time period are related to tourism activities. Studies related to tourism often include a survey of businesses to determine specifically how much of their activity is tourism-related.

Underemployed
Underemployment is a measure of employment and labor utilization in the economy that looks at how well the labor force is being utilized in terms of skills, experience and availability to work. Labor that falls under the underemployment classification includes those workers who are highly skilled but working in low paying jobs, workers who are highly skilled but working in low skill jobs and part-time workers who would prefer to be full time. This is different from unemployment in that the individual is working but is not working at his full capability.

Unemployed
People who are 16 years of age and older and do not have a job but are actively seeking a job. A more technical definition is the number of those who did not work at all during the week of the 12th, but were looking for work and were available for work during that week, except for temporary illness. Those who had made specific efforts to find work within the preceding four-week period, such as registering at a public or private employment agency, writing letters of application, canvassing for work, etc., are considered to be looking for work. This figure also includes those who did not work at all during the reference week, were available for work and were waiting to be called back to a job from which they had been laid off, or were waiting to report to a new job scheduled to start within the following 30 days. Passive methods of job search, such as attending a job-training program course, or merely reading want ads would not qualify a person as unemployed. Unemployed data is developed by the South Dakota Department of Labor and Regulation in cooperation with the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. See labor force technical notes for more information.

Unemployment Rate
The percentage of the labor force that does not have jobs but are actively seeking jobs. A more technical definition is the number of unemployed divided by the total number of people in the resident labor force. Unemployment rate data is developed by the South Dakota Department of Labor and Regulation in cooperation with the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. See labor force technical notes for more information.

Wages
Refers to a unit of compensation for the performance of labor, such as an hourly wage or annual salary, but does not include overtime, bonus pay or the value of benefits paid to workers. Occupational wage rates are developed by the South Dakota Department of Labor and Regulation in cooperation with the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. See occupational wages technical notes for more information, including an explanation of percentile wage data.