South Dakota e-Labor Bulletin

March 2024

South Dakota’s Largest Employers

Can you guess who South Dakota’s 10 largest employers are?

Did you know the answer is at your fingertips? On a quarterly basis, we update an alphabetical list of the state’s 10 largest business establishments.

The list is based on employment levels from the Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages (QCEW) program which we conduct in cooperation with the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). The source of data in the QCEW program is largely quarterly employment and wage reports which South Dakota employers liable for unemployment insurance tax in the state are required to file with our Department of Labor and Regulation’s Reemployment Assistance (RA) Division.

The list is based on private establishment data only; government entities are not included. Sometimes, the list appears to include duplicates. That is because it is based on establishments, and some employers have establishments at multiple locations.

Why don’t we publish the list in ranked order, or indicate employment levels of each establishment on the list?

Providing any indication of employment levels for employers, including a ranking by employment levels, may violate employer confidentiality safeguards. Other than the required quarterly RA Tax reports liable employers are required to file with our Department, all other data LMIC collects from employers is provided on a voluntary basis. This includes the Multiple Worksite Report (MWR) survey and the Annual Refiling Survey (ARS), both of which enhance the data in the quarterly tax reports and make it possible to have more finite data. The MWR survey is how the establishment/location-level employment data is determined. The ARS helps us ensure employment data is accurately reflected in the appropriate industry, and also sometimes provides us with more up-to-date employment levels.

Without the great ongoing cooperation of South Dakota employers who participate in the statistical surveys we conduct in cooperation with BLS, we would simply not be able to provide the workforce data we do. In return for their cooperation in our voluntary surveys, employers are assured of their confidentiality.

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.

Who are the largest employers in my area?

Similar lists of the 10 largest establishments are available at the county level upon request. We occasionally respond to requests from customers such as local economic development groups for these largest employer lists. Lists of fewer than 10 establishments or for more finite geographic areas than county are not available for the same reasons discussed above. Employer confidentiality is the top priority.

Please contact us with any questions.

Marcia Hultman

Cabinet Secretary