• Home to LMIC
• Virtual Labor Market Data System
  • Instructions for Using the Virtual System
  • Job Openings Data
• Career Exploration & Planning
  • Career Publications
  • Explore Occupations by Career Cluster
  • Explore Occupations by Interest Area
  • Hot Careers
  • Take the South Dakota Career Interest Survey
• Consumer Price Index
• Demographics
  • Affirmative Action/EEO
  • Area Profiles
  • Population
• Economic Snapshot
• Employee Benefits
• Employment Projections
  • By Industry
  • By Occupation
  • Hot Careers (High Demand-High Wage)
• Labor Force & Unemployment
• Labor Supply
• Overview of the Current Labor Market
• Surveys We Conduct
• Wages & Income
  • Wages by Occupation
  • Wages by Industry
  • Income
  • Minimum Wage Information
  • Prevailing Wages
• Workers by Industry
  • Nonfarm worker levels
  • Quarterly Census of Employment & Wages
• Tools & Resources
  • Postsecondary Graduate Outcomes System
  • South Dakota Career Interest Survey
  • Tapping Into the Power of LMI (recorded webinar)
  • Instructions for Using the Virtual Labor Market Data System
  • Virtual Labor Market Data System
• Publications
  • Annual Labor Market/Workforce Reports
  • Career Publications
  • South Dakota e-Labor Bulletin (current)
  • South Dakota e-Labor Bulletin Archive
  • South Dakota e-Labor Bulletin Articles
  • Other LMIC Publications
  • Order Publications
• References
  • Definitions
  • Program Overviews
  • FAQ
  • Related Sites
  • Release Dates
• What's New
• Can't Find It?

Labor Market Information Center

South Dakota Highlights of BLS Survey on Business Response to the Coronavirus Pandemic

On Dec. 7, 2020, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics released results of a survey they conducted on how U.S. businesses have changed their operations and employment since the coronavirus pandemic struck. The data were collected from July through September 30, 2020. The reference period for the survey was January 1, 2020 (before the pandemic) through the end of September 2020. Only private sector employers were surveyed; the data do not represent government entities. Data cover all 50 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico.

The following are highlights of South Dakota data collected through the survey. For full results, including tables of data on which the following statements are based, please see full results on the BLS website. For questions about the South Dakota highlights, please contact the Labor Market Information Center.

• South Dakota had the lowest percentage of establishments that reduced employees' hours of work, at 21.9%.
• South Dakota establishments had the lowest decrease in demand for products or services, with about 45.0% of businesses reporting decreased demand. States with the great decrease in demand were Illinois, Hawaii and California, which each experienced demand drops of about 61%.
• Not surprisingly, South Dakota has the lowest percentage (5.8%) of businesses which experienced a government-mandated closure of business. Since South Dakota had no state-mandated business closure, those impacted were likely establishments with headquarters elsewhere which were closed and needed to close facilities in South Dakota as well.
• South Dakota ranked third among all states and territories in the percentage of establishments that experienced no impact on their business operations, at 24.5%. Those areas with a lower percentage of establishments impacted were the District of Columbia at 25.9% and Idaho at 24.9%.
• South Dakota had the lowest percentage of establishments that told employees not to work, with or without pay, at 40.3%. Puerto Rico and Michigan topped the list, at 72.0% and 63.3%, respectively.
• South Dakota ranked 11th among all states and U.S. areas in the percentage of establishments increasing employee hours of work, at 5.5%.
• Similarly, South Dakota had the lowest percentage (5.7%) of establishments that reduced salaries and wages. From a slightly different perspective, South Dakota topped the list based on percentage of establishments that had no changes to payroll due to the coronavirus, at 53.0%.
• South Dakota ranked seventh in the percentage of establishments that continued paying employees told not to work during the coronavirus pandemic while they were not working, at 60.8%. Topping the list was Mississippi at 65.8%.
• South Dakota ranked 49th among all states and territories in the percent of establishments that increased telework, at 22.7%. Only North Dakota, Wyoming and Mississippi had lower percentages in this category, at 22,5%, 22.0% and 20.6%, respectively.
• South Dakota ranked ninth in the percent of establishments that had no telework at their location both before and after the coronavirus pandemic, 58.3%. Mississippi had the highest percentage at 66.0%.
• South Dakota ranked sixth in the percent of establishments that received a coronavirus-related loan or grant tied to rehiring or maintaining employees on the payroll, at 66.1%. Alabama and Hawaii tied for first and second place on this list, at 67.5%.
• South Dakota had the fifth highest percentage of establishments that told employees not to work and received a coronavirus-related loan or grant that also paid employees who were told not to work, at 70.1%. Ranking above South Dakota in this factor were Mississippi, Alabama, Florida and Oklahoma with percentages ranging from 70.9% to 74.0%.
• At 64.1%, South Dakota ranked eighth in the percentage of establishments that told employees not to work and did NOT receive a coronavirus-related loan or grant that also paid health insurance premiums for some employees told not to work.
• South Dakota had the lowest percentage of establishments that received a coronavirus-related loan or grant that also experienced a decrease in demand, at 53.0%.
• South Dakota had the lowest percentage of establishments that received a coronavirus-related loan or grant that also experienced a government-mandated closure, at 6.8%. It is likely this was among establishments with headquarters in other states which closed their facilities in South Dakota as well.
• At 33.2%, South Dakota ranked second to last in the percentage of establishments that did NOT receive a coronavirus-related loan or grant that also experienced a decrease in demand. Only Arkansas had a lower percentage, 33.0%.
• Arkansas was also the only area which had a lower percentage (5.7%) than South Dakota (5.8%) of establishments that did NOT receive a coronavirus-related loan or grant that also experienced a government-mandated closure.
• South Dakota had one of the lowest percentages (69.0%) of establishments that experienced a government-mandated closure that also either reduced employees' hours or told employees not to work. Only Kansas, the District of Columbia, Utah and North Dakota had lower percentages, which ranged from 57.6% to 68.6%.
• South Dakota had the lowest percentage (44.2%) of establishments that did NOT experience a government-mandated closure that also reduced employees' hours or told employees not to work.
• No other state or territory had a lower percentage than South Dakota’s 42.3% of establishments that received a coronavirus-related loan or grant that also told employees not to work.
• There were about 40% of South Dakota establishments that did NOT receive a coronavirus-related loan or grant that also told employees not to work. South Dakota ranked 48 among all states and territories in this percentage.