Unemployment shows continued drop in July

Aug. 31, 2020

The unemployment rate in the Sioux Falls metro area dropped to 5.5 percent in July, down from 6.7 percent in June, according to the South Dakota Department of Labor and Regulation.

That represents 8,846 unemployed people.

For July 2019, the unemployment rate in the Sioux Falls area was 2.4 percent.

Sioux Falls added 500 jobs in leisure and hospitality for the month but lost 500 in professional and business services. Those were the sectors with the biggest swings in employment.

The data continues to reflect the reopening of businesses that began to close temporarily in March because of the COVID-19 pandemic. The March unemployment rate was 3 percent.

Statewide unemployment fell to 6.3 percent in South Dakota in July, down from 7.2 percent in June.

That compares with 3.3 percent statewide unemployment last July.

The current figure represents 29,600 unemployed people.

Sectors that showed the strongest rebound statewide include leisure and hospitality, which grew by 7.2 percent from June and added 2,800 jobs for the month, and education, which added 200 jobs and grew by 3.1 percent.

The biggest drop came in construction, down 300 jobs or 1.1 percent.

Total nonfarm employment grew by 4,100 jobs month over month, or 1 percent.

The national unemployment rate in July was 10.2 percent.

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Unemployment shows continued drop in July

Unemployment numbers are trending in the right direction. Here’s how Sioux Falls and South Dakota wrapped up July.

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