Marcia Hultman

Cabinet Secretary

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Labor Market Information Center

Largest Establishments - Technical Notes

The list of South Dakota's largest establishments is based on levels of employment covered by reemployment assistance benefits (unemployment insurance), data gathered from the Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages program conducted by the Labor Market Information Center, South Dakota Department of Labor and Regulation in cooperation with the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). The list is published in alphabetical order without indication of employment levels. Similar lists of the 10 largest establishments are available at the county level upon request. Lists of fewer than 10 establishments or for more finite geographic areas than county are not available. Providing any indication of employment levels for employers, including a ranking by employment levels, lists of fewer than 10 establishments or lists of top establishments for areas more finite than county level may violate employer confidentiality safeguards.

As the principal data gathering agency of the federal government in the field of labor economics, it is important the BLS maintains its integrity, confidentiality and trust with respondents and data users to ensure accurate and honest data are provided for BLS surveys. When collecting data, the BLS makes a pledge of confidentiality to its respondents. This pledge varies depending on the context of each survey, but the standard BLS confidentiality pledge promises data collected are used for statistical purposes only.

The most relevant statute which governs BLS confidentiality is the Confidential Information Protection and Statistical Efficiency Act (CIPSEA). (The CIPSEA law is available in Adobe PDF format from the U.S. Department of Education website). This statute prohibits disclosure or release, for non-statistical purposes, of information collected under a pledge of confidentiality. Under CIPSEA, data may not be released to unauthorized persons. Willful and knowing disclosure of protected data to unauthorized persons is a felony punishable by up to five years imprisonment and up to a $250,000 fine.

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