Marcia Hultman

Cabinet Secretary

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Labor Market Information Center

December South Dakota statewide data just released

Please note: The following data release includes December 2021 seasonally adjusted statewide labor force and both seasonally adjusted and not seasonally adjusted statewide nonfarm data. The full release of December 2021 labor force and not seasonally adjusted nonfarm wage and salaried worker data for all areas will be Jan. 28, 2022, with the publication of the January 2022 South Dakota e-Labor Bulletin. December 2021 not seasonally adjusted data will also be available in the virtual labor market data system at that time. The release of December 2021 seasonally adjusted labor force data for the two Metropolitan Statistical Areas is scheduled for Feb. 2, 2022.

Labor Force

Preliminary estimates show South Dakota's unemployment rate decreased 0.1% to 2.6% in December 2021. The labor force decreased over the month by 100 workers (0.0%) to 470,900 workers. The level of unemployed decreased by 600 (4.7%) to 12,200 persons unemployed.

Seasonally Adjusted Labor Force
  December 2021   November 2021
Labor Force Employed Unemployed Rate Labor Force Employed Unemployed Rate
United States 162,294,000 155,975,000 6,319,000 3.9% 162,126,000 155,324,000 6,802,000 4.2%
South Dakota 470,900 458,700 12,200 2.6% 471,000 458,100 12,800 2.7%
Source: Labor Market Information Center, South Dakota Department of Labor and Regulation, in cooperation with the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics

South Dakota's December 2021 labor force of 470,900 decreased compared to the December 2020 level of 471,600. The level of employed increased by 2,600 (0.6%); the level of unemployed decreased by 3,300 persons (21.3%). The unemployment rate decreased 0.7% to 2.6%.

Seasonally Adjusted Labor Force
  December 2021   December 2020
Labor Force Employed Unemployed Rate Labor Force Employed Unemployed Rate
United States 162,294,000 155,975,000 6,319,000 3.9% 160,671,000 149,883,000 10,789,000 6.7%
South Dakota 470,900 458,700 12,200 2.6% 471,600 456,100 15,500 3.3%
Source: Labor Market Information Center, South Dakota Department of Labor and Regulation, in cooperation with the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics

The unemployment rate represents the number of unemployed as a percentage of the labor force. People are classified as unemployed if they do not have jobs, have actively looked for work in the prior four weeks and are currently available for work. People who were not working and were waiting to be recalled to jobs from which they were temporarily laid off are also included as unemployed.

Note: The published unemployment rate presented above may not equal the percentage calculated using the published unemployed and labor force figures presented above due to rounding.

Nonfarm wage & salaried workers

The December 2021 nonfarm worker data is preliminary and subject to revision.

Seasonally Adjusted

The seasonally adjusted nonfarm worker level decreased 1,300 workers (0.3%) over the month to 435,000 workers in December 2021. Government had the largest over-the-month loss with a drop of 900 workers. Local Government accounted for most of the decline in Government, dropping 600 workers over the month. 

Over the year, the seasonally adjusted nonfarm worker level increased by 3,400 workers (0.8%). Over-the-year gains were related to worker levels rebounding after previously dipping due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

South Dakota
(Seasonally Adjusted)
  % Change From
  Dec.*
2021		 Nov.
2021		 Dec.
2020		 Last
Month		 Last
Year
Total Nonfarm 435,000 436,300 431,600 -0.3 0.8
 Mining, Logging and Construction 27,500 27,500 25,000 0.0 10.0
   Mining and Logging 1,100 1,100 1,000 0.0 10.0
   Construction 26,400 26,400 24,000 0.0 10.0
 Manufacturing 44,300 44,200 43,600 0.2 1.6
   Durable Goods   27,100 27,100 26,700 0.0 1.5
   Non-durable Goods 17,200 17,100 16,900 0.6 1.8
 Trade, Transportation and Utilities 85,400 85,100 86,400 0.4 -1.2
   Wholesale Trade 20,900 20,800 21,200 0.5 -1.4
   Retail Trade 51,100 51,300 51,500 -0.4 -0.8
   Transportation, Warehousing and Utilities 13,400 13,000 13,700 3.1 -2.2
 Information 4,800 4,800 4,800 0.0 0.0
 Financial Activities 27,800 28,100 28,600 -1.1 -2.8
 Professional and Business Services 32,400 32,900 32,500 -1.5 -0.3
 Education and Health Services 72,500 72,300 74,200 0.3 -2.3
   Educational Services  7,000 6,800 6,700 2.9 4.5
   Health Care and Social Assistance 65,500 65,500 67,500 0.0 -3.0
 Leisure and Hospitality 44,900 45,100 41,700 -0.4 7.7
 Other Services (except Public Administration) 17,200 17,200 17,300 0.0 -0.6
Government 78,200 79,100 77,500 -1.1 0.9
  Federal Government 11,200 11,300 11,600 -0.9 -3.4
  State Government 17,600 17,800 16,600 -1.1 6.0
  Local Government 49,400 50,000 49,300 -1.2 0.2
Source: Labor Market Information Center, South Dakota Department of Labor and Regulation, in cooperation with the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics

The table above shows the seasonally adjusted data. A table displaying the not seasonally adjusted data can be found below. Visit our technical notes page for an explanation of seasonal adjustment.

Not Seasonally Adjusted

Over the month, the not seasonally adjusted nonfarm wage and salaried worker level decreased by 2,200 workers (0.5%). Construction had the largest over-the-month drop with a loss of 1,700 workers (6.4%). Historically, worker levels in the construction sector decline when temperatures drop.

Over the year, the not seasonally adjusted worker level increased by 4,200 (1.0%). Leisure and Hospitality had the largest over-the-year growth, adding 3,200 workers (8.2%). Over-the-year gains were primarily due to worker levels bouncing back after significant declines when the pandemic first impacted the state.

South Dakota
(Not Seasonally Adjusted)
    % Change From
Dec.*
2021		 Nov.
2021		 Dec.
2020		 Last
Month		 Last
Year
Total Nonfarm 434,800 437,000 430,600 -0.5 1.0
 Mining, Logging and Construction 26,000 27,800 23,900 -6.5 8.8
  Mining and Logging 1,000 1,100 900 -9.1 11.1
  Construction 25,000 26,700 23,000 -6.4 8.7
   Construction of Buildings 6,100 6,200 5,700 -1.6 7.0
   Heavy and Civil Engineering Construction 4,700 5,500 3,800 -14.5 23.7
   Specialty Trade Contractors 14,200 15,000 13,500 -5.3 5.2
 Manufacturing 44,200 44,100 43,500 0.2 1.6
   Durable Goods 26,900 26,900 26,500 0.0 1.5
   Non-Durable Goods 17,300 17,200 17,000 0.6 1.8
 Trade, Transportation and Utilities 86,900 85,500 87,100 1.6 -0.2
   Wholesale Trade 20,800 20,900 21,100 -0.5 -1.4
   Retail Trade 52,200 51,300 52,000 1.8 0.4
   Transportation, Warehousing and Utilities 13,900 13,300 14,000 4.5 -0.7
 Information 4,800 4,800 4,800 0.0 0.0
 Financial Activities 28,300 28,200 28,700 0.4 -1.4
 Professional and Business Services 32,200 33,200 32,700 -3.0 -1.5
 Education and Health Services 73,700 73,100 75,100 0.8 -1.9
   Educational Services  7,700 7,600 7,400 1.3 4.1
   Health Care and Social Assistance 66,000 65,500 67,700 0.8 -2.5
     Hospitals 27,300 27,200 27,200 0.4 0.4
 Leisure and Hospitality 42,200 43,200 39,000 -2.3 8.2
 Other Services (except Public Administration) 17,100 17,000 17,100 0.6 0.0
Government 79,400 80,100 78,700 -0.9 0.9
  Federal Government 11,300 11,300 11,700 0.0 -3.4
  State Government 18,200 18,400 17,100 -1.1 6.4
     State Government Educational Services 9,300 9,600 8,200 -3.1 13.4
  Local Government 49,900 50,400 49,900 -1.0 0.0
     Local Government Educational Services 27,200 27,500 27,300 -1.1 -0.4
Source: Labor Market Information Center, South Dakota Department of Labor and Regulation, in cooperation with the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics

*Note: All December 2021 data in the tables and narrative above is preliminary and subject to revision.

A more comprehensive overview of the labor market in December 2021, including substate labor force and nonfarm industry data, will be available Jan. 28, 2022 in the South Dakota e-Labor Bulletin published on this website. To view the current e-Labor Bulletin, click on the large "e" on our home page or subscribe to receive an email notice when a new edition is available.