Marcia Hultman

Cabinet Secretary

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Labor Market Information Center

August South Dakota statewide data just released

Please note: The following data release includes August 2020 seasonally adjusted statewide labor force and both seasonally adjusted and not seasonally adjusted statewide nonfarm data. The full release of August 2020 labor force and not seasonally adjusted nonfarm wage and salaried worker data for all areas will be Sept. 25, 2020, with the publication of the September 2020 South Dakota e-Labor Bulletin. August 2020 not seasonally adjusted data will also be available in the virtual labor market data system at that time. The release of August 2020 seasonally adjusted labor force data for the two Metropolitan Statistical Areas is scheduled for Sept. 30.

Labor Force

Preliminary estimates show South Dakota's unemployment rate decreased 1.6% to 4.8% in August 2020. The labor force decreased over the month by 6,800 workers (1.5%) to 459,400 workers. The level of unemployed decreased by 8,000 (26.7%) to 22,000 persons unemployed.

Seasonally Adjusted Labor Force
  August 2020   July 2020
Labor Force Employed Unemployed Rate Labor Force Employed Unemployed Rate
United States 160,838,000 147,288,000 13,550,000 8.4% 159,870,000 143,532,000 16,338,000 10.2%
South Dakota 459,400 437,400 22,000 4.8% 466,200 436,300 30,000 6.4%
Source: Labor Market Information Center, South Dakota Department of Labor and Regulation, in cooperation wtih the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics

South Dakota's August 2020 labor force of 459,400 decreased compared to the August 2019 level of 464,900. The level of employed decreased by 11,900 (2.6%); the level of unemployed increased by 6,400 persons (41.0%). The unemployment rate increased to 4.8%.

Seasonally Adjusted Labor Force
  August 2020   August 2019
Labor Force Employed Unemployed Rate Labor Force Employed Unemployed Rate
United States 160,838,000 147,288,000 13,550,000 8.4% 163,894,000 157,895,000 5,999,000 3.7%
South Dakota 459,400 437,400 22,000 4.8% 464,900 449,300 15,600 3.3%
Source: Labor Market Information Center, South Dakota Department of Labor and Regulation, in cooperation wtih 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 August 2020 nonfarm worker data is preliminary and subject to revision.

Seasonally Adjusted

The seasonally adjusted nonfarm worker level increased 1,400 workers (0.3%) over the month to 420,600 workers in August 2020. Government had the largest over-the-month growth, adding 1,400 workers (1.9%). Local Government increased 800 workers (1.8%), and Federal Government added 600 workers (5.3%). State Government remain unchanged over-the-month with 17,000 workers.

Over the year, the seasonally adjusted nonfarm worker level decreased by 19,900 workers (4.5%). The top three contributors to this loss were Leisure and Hospitality (6,400 workers or 13.6%); Government (5,100 workers or 6.4%); and Manufacturing (3,100 workers or 6.9%). A majority of the losses are due to the spread of COVID-19, with many establishments having reduced staffing compared to last year.

South Dakota
(Seasonally Adjusted)
  % Change From
  August*
2020		 July
2020		 August
2019 		Last
Month		 Last
Year
Total Nonfarm 420,600 419,200 440,500 0.3 -4.5
 Mining, Logging and Construction 27,600 27,400 24,900 0.7 10.8
   Mining and Logging 1,100 1,100 1,000 0.0 10.0
   Construction 26,500 26,300 23,900 0.8 10.9
 Manufacturing 41,800 42,200 44,900 -0.9 -6.9
 Trade, Transportation and Utilities 82,400 82,100 85,900 0.4 -4.1
   Wholesale Trade 20,700 20,700 21,200 0.0 -2.4
   Retail Trade 49,000 48,700 51,000 0.6 -3.9
   Transportation, Warehousing and Utilities 12,700 12,700 13,700 0.0 -7.3
 Information 5,200 5,200 5,400 0.0 -3.7
 Financial Activities 29,000 29,000 29,000 0.0 0.0
 Professional and Business Services 33,200 33,300 33,200 -0.3 0.0
 Education and Health Services 70,900 70,400 73,600 0.7 -3.7
   Educational Services  7,200 6,800 7,300 5.9 -1.4
   Health Care and Social Assistance 63,700 63,600 66,300 0.2 -3.9
 Leisure and Hospitality 40,600 41,800 47,000 -2.9 -13.6
 Other Services (except Public Administration) 15,300 14,600 16,900 4.8 -9.5
Government 74,600 73,200 79,700 1.9 -6.4
  Federal Government 11,900 11,300 11,200 5.3 6.3
  State Government 17,000 17,000 18,200 0.0 -6.6
  Local Government 45,700 44,900 50,300 1.8 -9.1
Source: Labor Market Information Center, South Dakota Department of Labor and Regulation, in cooperation wtih 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 increased by 2,200 workers (0.5%). Government had the largest over-the-month increase with a gain of 1,500 workers (2.2%). Gains in Federal Government may be related to the hiring of workers for the 2020 Census. Local Government Educational Services also showed strong over-the-month worker gains as many schools increased workers to prepare for the school year.

Over the year, the not seasonally adjusted worker level decreased by 19,900 workers (4.5%). The top three contributors to this loss were Leisure and Hospitality (5,900 workers or 11.2%); Government (5,100 workers or 6.7%); and Manufacturing (3,200 workers or 7.1%). Over-the-year losses are primarily due to the current pandemic.

South Dakota
(Not Seasonally Adjusted)
    % Change From
August*
2020		 July
2020		 August
2019 		Last
Month		 Last
Year
Total Nonfarm 426,700 424,500 446,600 0.5 -4.5
 Mining, Logging and Construction 29,800 29,900 27,200 -0.3 9.6
  Mining and Logging 1,200 1,200 1,100 0.0 9.1
  Construction 28,600 28,700 26,100 -0.3 9.6
   Construction of Buildings 7,000 6,900 6,200 1.4 12.9
   Heavy and Civil Engineering Construction 5,400 5,500 4,900 -1.8 10.2
   Specialty Trade Contractors 16,200 16,300 15,000 -0.6 8.0
 Manufacturing 41,900 42,400 45,100 -1.2 -7.1
   Durable Goods 26,500 27,000 28,700 -1.9 -7.7
   Non-Durable Goods 15,400 15,400 16,400 0.0 -6.1
 Trade, Transportation and Utilities 83,500 83,100 87,100 0.5 -4.1
   Wholesale Trade 20,800 20,800 21,300 0.0 -2.3
   Retail Trade 49,900 49,600 52,000 0.6 -4.0
   Transportation, Warehousing and Utilities 12,800 12,700 13,800 0.8 -7.2
 Information 5,300 5,300 5,500 0.0 -3.6
 Financial Activities 29,200 29,200 29,200 0.0 0.0
 Professional and Business Services 33,700 33,900 33,800 -0.6 -0.3
 Education and Health Services 70,200 69,900 73,200 0.4 -4.1
   Educational Services  6,200 5,900 6,600 5.1 -6.1
   Health Care and Social Assistance 64,000 64,000 66,600 0.0 -3.9
     Hospitals 25,700 25,600 25,900 0.4 -0.8
 Leisure and Hospitality 46,700 46,300 52,600 0.9 -11.2
 Other Services (except Public Administration) 15,700 15,300 17,100 2.6 -8.2
Government 70,700 69,200 75,800 2.2 -6.7
  Federal Government 12,100 11,300 11,300 7.1 7.1
  State Government 15,600 15,500 16,800 0.6 -7.1
     State Government Educational Services 6,300 6,200 7,400 1.6 -14.9
  Local Government 43,000 42,400 47,700 1.4 -9.9
     Local Government Educational Services 19,700 18,700 21,400 5.3 -7.9
Source: Labor Market Information Center, South Dakota Department of Labor and Regulation, in cooperation wtih the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics

*Note: All August 2020 data in the tables and narrative above is preliminary and subject to revision.

A more comprehensive overview of the labor market in August 2020, including substate labor force and nonfarm industry data, will be available Sept. 25 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.