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Labor Market Information Center
2023 Annual Report
Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages
Introduction
South Dakota’s Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages annual summary displays information about workers covered by South Dakota Unemployment Insurance law and the Unemployment Compensation for Federal Employees (UCFE) program. Covered workers include employees who are paid a wage or salary during the year; it excludes the self-employed and unpaid family workers. Wage and salaried workers are covered regardless of type of ownership. Employees working at privately owned businesses and federal, state and local government agencies are all included.
However, not all employees are covered workers. South Dakota wage and salaried workers not covered by South Dakota Unemployment Insurance law include railroad employees, government elected officials, election workers, work-study students, and religious organization employees. (Some religious organizations may opt to provide unemployment insurance coverage to their employees; therefore, could be included in this publication. Nonprofit organizations may or may not be covered by unemployment insurance, depending upon whether they meet specific employment requirements.
Smaller businesses may also be exempted from coverage if they do not meet unemployment insurance law minimum payroll and employment criteria. Businesses who hire only a few workers on a part-time or seasonal basis, such as agricultural businesses, make up a large part of the exempted group.
Each employer in South Dakota who is covered by unemployment insurance is assigned an industry classification and a county code. The industry classification is determined by the business activity and type of ownership, and the county code is determined by worksite location (store, branch, office, etc.).
Only data from covered employers is included in this publication. State laws protect confidentiality of individual employer data. Data are not presented if an industry classification consists of less than two employers.
The data in this publication is based on the unemployment insurance reports submitted by South Dakota employers and data gathered by the Labor Market Information Center (LMIC) in cooperation with the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Although the unemployment insurance reports are based on employer serial number, the LMIC gathers additional data by establishment. A covered employer could include one or more establishments. Those establishments could be conducting business at one or more worksite locations. Each establishment is given an industry and county code. Data for 2023 in this publication are preliminary and subject to revision. Because of late reporting by covered private and government employers, some data in this publication may be imputed.