Marcia Hultman

Cabinet Secretary

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Labor Market Information Center

July South Dakota statewide data just released

Please note: The following data release includes July 2019 seasonally adjusted statewide labor force and both seasonally adjusted and not seasonally adjusted statewide nonfarm data. The full release of July 2019 labor force and not seasonally adjusted nonfarm wage and salaried worker data for all areas will be Aug. 23, 2019, with the publication of the August 2019 South Dakota e-Labor Bulletin. July 2019 not seasonally adjusted data will also be available in the virtual Labor Market System at that time. The release of July 2019 seasonally adjusted labor force data for the two Metropolitan Statistical Areas is scheduled for Aug. 28, 2019.

Labor Force

Preliminary estimates show South Dakota's unemployment rate held steady at 2.9 percent from June to July 2019. The labor force increased over the month by 800 workers (0.2 percent) to 466,500 workers. The level of unemployed increased by 200 workers (1.5 percent) to 13,600 workers.

Seasonally Adjusted Labor Force
  July 2019   June 2019
Labor Force Employed Unemployed Rate Labor Force Employed Unemployed Rate
United States 163,351,000 157,288,000 6,063,000 3.7% 162,981,000 157,005,000 5,975,000 3.7%
South Dakota 466,500 453,000 13,600 2.9% 465,700 452,300 13,400 2.9%

South Dakota's July 2019 labor force of 466,500 increased compared to the July 2018 level of 459,000. The level of employed increased by 7,700 (1.7 percent); the level of unemployed decreased by 100 persons (0.7 percent). The unemployment rate dropped 0.1 percent to 2.9 percent.

Seasonally Adjusted Labor Force
  July 2019   July 2018
Labor Force Employed Unemployed Rate Labor Force Employed Unemployed Rate
United States 163,351,000 157,288,000 6,063,000 3.7% 162,209,000 155,964,000 6,245,000 3.9%
South Dakota 466,500 453,000 13,600 2.9% 459,000 445,300 13,700 3.0%

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 July 2019 nonfarm worker data is preliminary and subject to revision.

The July 2019 nonfarm worker data is preliminary and subject to revision. Over the month, the seasonally adjusted worker level decreased by 400 workers (0.1 percent) to 447,900 workers. This modest decline was the result of minimal decreases in a number of industries, including Construction; Manufacturing; Transportation, Warehousing
and Utilities; Educational Services; Leisure and Hospitality; Other Services (except Public Administration); and Government.

Over the year, the seasonally adjusted nonfarm worker level increased by 9,300 workers (2.1 percent). Strong gains in Manufacturing (1,900 workers or 4.3 percent), Wholesale Trade (1,900 workers or 9.1 percent), Health Care and Social Assistance (1,600 workers or 2.5 percent) and Professional and Business Services (1,300 workers or 4.0 percent) contributed to this increase.

South Dakota
(Seasonally Adjusted)
  % Change From
  July*
2019		 June
2019		 July
2018 		Last
Month		 Last
Year
Total Nonfarm 447,900 448,300 438,600 -0.1 2.1
 Mining, Logging and Construction 24,600 24,700 23,800 -0.4 3.4
   Mining and Logging 1,000 1,000 1,000 0.0 0.0
   Construction 23,600 23,700 22,800 -0.4 3.5
 Manufacturing 46,400 46,600 44,500 -0.4 4.3
 Trade, Transportation and Utilities 89,600 89,500 86,400 0.1 3.7
   Wholesale Trade 22,800 22,800 20,900 0.0 9.1
   Retail Trade 52,800 52,600 52,100 0.4 1.3
   Transportation, Warehousing and Utilities 14,000 14,100 13,400 -0.7 4.5
 Information 5,600 5,500 5,500 1.8 1.8
 Financial Activities 28,800 28,800 29,200 0.0 -1.4
 Professional and Business Services 33,900 33,500 32,600 1.2 4.0
 Education and Health Services 74,200 74,300 72,600 -0.1 2.2
   Educational Services  7,300 7,400 7,300 -1.4 0.0
   Health Care and Social Assistance 66,900 66,900 65,300 0.0 2.5
 Leisure and Hospitality 48,200 48,500 47,600 -0.6 1.3
 Other Services (except Public Administration) 16,900 17,000 16,800 -0.6 0.6
Government 79,700 79,900 79,600 -0.3 0.1
  Federal Government 11,100 11,000 11,400 0.9 -2.6
  State Government 18,400 18,400 18,300 0.0 0.5
  Local Government 50,200 50,500 49,900 -0.6 0.6

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.

Over the month, the not seasonally adjusted nonfarm wage and salaried worker level decreased by 4,200 workers (0.9 percent) from June 2019 to July 2019. Government had the largest over-the-month drop with the loss of 5,700 workers (7.0 percent). This decline was primarily due to the decrease of educational workers with most schools not in session due to summer break.

Over the year, the not seasonally adjusted worker level increased by 12,500 workers (2.8 percent). Since 2010, the South Dakota nonfarm worker level has been on an upward trend. Leisure and Hospitality had the largest worker level gains with an increase of 2,800 workers (5.4 percent). Tourism is the driving force behind Leisure and Hospitality growth. Solid gains in Manufacturing; Wholesale Trade; Health Care and Social Assistance; Professional and Business Services; Retail Trade; Construction; and Transportation, Warehousing and Utilities also contributed to this increase.

South Dakota
(Not Seasonally Adjusted)
    % Change From
July*
2019		 June
2019		 July
2018 		Last
Month		 Last
Year
Total Nonfarm 455,500 459,700 443,000 -0.9 2.8
 Mining, Logging and Construction 27,100 26,600 26,300 1.9 3.0
  Mining and Logging 1,100 1,100 1,100 0.0 0.0
  Construction 26,000 25,500 25,200 2.0 3.2
   Construction of Buildings 6,600 6,500 6,400 1.5 3.1
   Heavy and Civil Engineering Construction 4,200 4,100 4,100 2.4 2.4
   Specialty Trade Contractors 15,200 14,900 14,700 2.0 3.4
 Manufacturing 46,900 47,000 44,900 -0.2 4.5
   Durable Goods 30,400 30,600 29,000 -0.7 4.8
   Non-Durable Goods 16,500 16,400 15,900 0.6 3.8
 Trade, Transportation and Utilities 91,100 90,800 87,500 0.3 4.1
   Wholesale Trade 23,000 23,100 21,200 -0.4 8.5
   Retail Trade 54,100 53,600 53,000 0.9 2.1
   Transportation, Warehousing and Utilities 14,000 14,100 13,300 -0.7 5.3
 Information 5,700 5,600 5,600 1.8 1.8
 Financial Activities 29,100 29,200 29,400 -0.3 -1.0
 Professional and Business Services 34,600 33,800 33,300 2.4 3.9
 Education and Health Services 73,300 74,200 71,900 -1.2 1.9
   Educational Services  6,300 7,000 6,400 -10.0 -1.6
   Health Care and Social Assistance 67,000 67,200 65,500 -0.3 2.3
     Hospitals 26,000 26,000 25,500 0.0 2.0
 Leisure and Hospitality 54,500 53,700 51,700 1.5 5.4
 Other Services (except Public Administration) 17,700 17,600 17,300 0.6 2.3
Government 75,500 81,200 75,100 -7.0 0.5
  Federal Government 11,100 11,300 11,400 -1.8 -2.6
  State Government 16,800 16,900 16,700 -0.6 0.6
     State Government Educational Services 7,300 7,400 7,300 -1.4 0.0
  Local Government 47,600 53,000 47,000 -10.2 1.3
     Local Government Educational Services 21,000 26,300 20,800 -20.2 1.0

*Note: All July 2019 data in the tables and narrative above is preliminary and subject to revision.

A more comprehensive overview of the labor market in July 2019, including substate labor force and nonfarm industry data, will be available Aug. 23, 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.