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South Dakota e-Labor Bulletin

April 2023

Survey results shine light on changes in business practices post-pandemic

Results of a 2022 Business Response Survey the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) conducted nationally and in all states lend insight into changes employers have made since the COVID-19 pandemic. Data were collected from private-sector establishments from Aug. 1 to Sept. 30, 2022. Government-operated agencies and schools at the federal, state and local level were not surveyed. U.S. estimates include not only the 50 states, but the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands as well.

Since BLS conducted the same type of survey in 2021 (with us sharing results in an earlier Labor Bulletin article), it is possible to analyze how certain business practices have changed over the longer term.

Topics covered include:

• Telework at establishments in August–September 2022 compared to before the COVID–19 pandemic began (February 2020)
• Hiring in July 2022, and methods establishments used to attract applicants to newly filled positions
• Vacancies in August–September 2022
• Establishments’ advertising methods for vacant positions in August 2021–September 2022.

Telework/Remote Work

Nationally, the survey found 27.5% of private-sector establishments (2.5 million) have employees teleworking some or all the time. This compares to 23.1% of private establishments in South Dakota having employees who telework some or all the time.

A further breakdown of the data shows 16.4% of private establishments in the nation have employees who work remotely some of the time. This percentage is lower in South Dakota at 11.0%. Meanwhile, 11.1% of establishments nationally have employees who telework all the time. This percentage is higher in South Dakota, with 12.1% of private establishments in the state having employees who work remotely all the time.

Through the Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages (QCEW program) under which new unemployment insurance tax accounts are identified by industry and physical location in South Dakota, we have seen the addition of many new, small establishments in the state since the pandemic hit. Many of these new, small establishments (with just one or two employees) are in the following sectors: Professional and Business Services, Wholesale Trade, Management of Companies and Enterprises, and Information (specifically those providing computing infrastructures, data processing and web hosting/search portals). To a large degree, these are industries where communications and other work is done electronically. These new, small South Dakota businesses appear to be operated by individuals moving in from out of state, quite possibly doing work for establishments elsewhere.

The majority of private establishments both nationally and in South Dakota have employees who rarely or never telework, at 72.5% and 76.9%, respectively. South Dakota ranked 16th among all the areas in this percentage, with Puerto Rico, Mississippi and North Dakota having the highest percentages of employees who rarely or never telework at 87.7%, 87.5% and 83.5%, respectively.

Has remote work gained popularity since the pandemic hit? In the survey, employers were asked if they had any employees teleworking in February 2020, before the COVID-19 pandemic hit. Nationally, 23.3% said yes, they had employees who worked remotely before the pandemic. In South Dakota, 22.9% indicated they had employees who teleworked prior to the pandemic. Again, the majority (76.7% nationally, 77.1% in South Dakota) of private establishments indicated they had no employees who teleworked prior to the pandemic.

Survey participants were also asked if they expect changes in the remote work options extended to employees in the future. The majority (95.1% nationally and 97.0% in the state) expect the time employees are permitted to telework will stay about the same.

Remote Work Varies by Industry

Although state-specific results from the survey are not available by industry, national data provide some indication to what extent remote work varies by industry. Industries with the highest percent of establishments employing teleworkers were Information (67.4%), Professional and Business Services (49.0%), Educational Services (46.0%) and Wholesale Trade (39.0%). This is not too surprising, considering the prevalence of technology in these types of establishments, with less reliance on manual work and face-to-face transactions.

Hiring Activity

The survey also asked about hiring activity, using July 2022 as a reference point. Of the nation’s private establishments, 22.4% hired new employees. This was comparable to hiring activity in South Dakota, where 20.6% hired new employees in July. Nationally, 7.0% of establishments were hiring new employees for positions that had been open for more than 30 days (compared to 6.0% in South Dakota), and 15.8% for positions that were open for 30 days or less (with South Dakota coming in at 14.3%).

Human Resource Strategies

The privately owned establishments surveyed were also asked about hiring practices changed to attract more applicants, again using a reference period of July 2022. Nationally, 7.3% of establishments increased the starting pay of the newly filled positions. Again, South Dakota was comparable at 7.1% increasing starting pay. The table below compares national and state-specific data resulting from other survey questions about changes in human resource strategies to attract applicants to job openings.

Job Vacancies

Responses to survey questions also provided insight into trends in job vacancies since the pandemic. Based on data collected for August and September 2022, 20.9% of the nation’s private establishments had vacancies they were attempting to fill. South Dakota closely followed suit, with 21.4% indicating they had open positions they were attempting to fill in late Summer 2022. Businesses were also asked about hiring activity in the prior year (August 2021 to September 2022). Results revealed 40.5% of establishments nationally (39.9% for South Dakota) had vacant positions at that time.

Additional items in the survey questionnaire delved into specifics of how employers were promoting job openings and seeking candidates. The table below shows results for the United States and South Dakota.

Percentage of Employment Data Also Available

So far in this article about results of the Business Response Survey, we’ve focused on data in terms of percentage of all private establishments. In other words, for each topic included in the survey, we’ve looked at the percentage of businesses impacted. Data from the survey also provide detail on percent of employment impacted for each survey item. For example, in the first paragraph of the “Telework/Remote Work” section above, we looked at what percentage of establishments have employees teleworking some or all the time. Data available from the survey also show what percentage of employment is in establishments with teleworking. The table below should help illustrate the additional data set available.

The table shows what we mentioned above, 16.4% of private establishments in the nation have employees who work remotely some of the time, compared to 11.0% of establishments in South Dakota. Using these survey topics as an example, this table includes the additional data set—showing percentage of employment. Nationally, 31.9% of employment is in establishments with employees teleworking some of the time. In South Dakota, 20.0% of employment is in establishments with employees teleworking some of the time.

For more national results of the 2022 Business Response Survey, visit the BLS website. The survey questionnaire can also be viewed on that website. Results for South Dakota and all other states can be downloaded from the BLS website. Contact us with specific questions or for assistance downloading and using the data.