Metro Area Unemployment Rate Rises to 4.8 percent in December

The jobless rate in the Rapid City metropolitan area rose from 4.2 percent in October to a provisional rate of 4.8 percent in December, 2012. The total number of unemployed (3,200) in December increased from 2,800 as total employment and the size of the civilian labor force fell from a 2012 high of 70,200 in August to 66,000 in December. According to provisional numbers for December, over the last twelve months the leading growth sectors for employment are: Manufacturing, up 4. percent from December, 2011; Education and Health Services, up 2.9 percent since December 2011; and Leisure and Hospitality, up 6.6 percent since December 2011. Declining sectors include Mining, Logging and Construction, which is down 2.4 percent over the last twelve months, and Trade, Transportation and Utilities, which has dropped by 3.0 percent. For more details and an overview of the economy in the Rapid City Metropolitan Statistical Area (Pennington and Meade counties), visit the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. (Updated February 27, 2013) 

State Unemployment Rate at 5.0 Percent in January, 2013

For more county level unemployment statistics check out an interactive database provided by the South Dakota Department of Labor Statistics.  For a better visual representation of the county level unemployment rates check out this interactive map on the Washington Post. Another data visualization map shows how South Dakota's unemployment currently compares to the rest of the country.