South Dakota Is Still Doing Well (Sioux Falls, Rapid City: rent, health insurance, employment)

[Jammie]

Regional and State Employment and Unemployment Summary

A kind poster on the Houston forum provided this link. I was curious about their unemployment rate because Tx. is supposed to be very low, too.

From what I can tell, we seem to be the number one state for the lowest unemployment rate.

I don't mean this in a "braggy" way. We are very fortunate.

[DeadwoodJ]

True, but if you look at some of those numbers you'll see that the unemployment in South Dakota went from 3.0% - 3.3% July 2008 and August 2008. Over the last year its also rose .4% over the last year. Not to take away from the low rates of the state compared to the rest of the state, but I think that no state can sustain a low unemployment rate for long periods of time.

[Chris19]

I agree that we are very fortunate. I see that unemployment is a lot worse in many other areas. Yes, our wages are low, but we should feel fortunate to have employment to pay our bills and put food on the table.

I think that our unemployment rate may get worse before it gets better, but it takes time. My prayers go towards those who are struggling, unemployed, or out of home. South Dakota's will certainly rise, hopefully not too high. We have gone through tough times before and should pull together if things get tough again.

[GraniteStater]

Sioux Falls looks to be a huge driver overall in the South Dakotan economy. The unemployment in Sioux Falls is quite low, with Rapid City higher. The energy boom has had a bigger impact on states like North Dakota, Montana, and Wyoming compared with South Dakota. I wonder if the lower unemployment rate is also related to the out-migration of younger workers to larger metropolitan areas like Minneapolis which leads to some labor shortages? As I examine the data I have found that many rural and frontier counties in South Dakota have greater than 20% of the population over age 65. Maybe the demand for workers is now increasing some as rural economic development becomes more of a priority in areas of the Plains. This is just my opinion...

[MJ1986]

Granite, you could be correct... A lot of young people do migrate out of SD.
Wages are lower here, but so is the cost of living... It's kind of a give/take thing.
South Dakota does have one of the higher percentages of elderly people. People from rural South Dakota tend to be migrating to the bigger towns and cities in SD.
The amounts of farms in SD has been on a steady decline. Sioux Falls is growing by leaps and bounds. I'm not sure about Rapid City, I'm sure its growing at a steady pace. And smaller cities like Aberdeen, Watertown, and Huron are growing slightly.

As far as the energy boom, the proposed Hyperion oil refinery would bring a vast amount of jobs and economic opportunity to the area between Sioux Falls and Sioux City.

[GraniteStater]

Originally Posted by MJ1986

Granite, you could be correct... A lot of young people do migrate out of SD.
Wages are lower here, but so is the cost of living... It's kind of a give/take thing.
South Dakota does have one of the higher percentages of elderly people. People from rural South Dakota tend to be migrating to the bigger towns and cities in SD.
The amounts of farms in SD has been on a steady decline. Sioux Falls is growing by leaps and bounds. I'm not sure about Rapid City, I'm sure its growing at a steady pace. And smaller cities like Aberdeen, Watertown, and Huron are growing slightly.

As far as the energy boom, the proposed Hyperion oil refinery would bring a vast amount of jobs and economic opportunity to the area between Sioux Falls and Sioux City.

Thanks for the good info. I did notice a great deal of growth the last time I visited the Sioux Falls region three years ago.
Here are updates on the Hyperion refinery issue... It would be the first refinery built in the US in decades.
http://www.siouxcityjournal.com/arti...cf0083ac1a.txt
Sioux City Journal: South Dakotans should register objections to air permit

[blackhillsdreams]

I don't mean to be the downer here, but keep in mind that someone working part time (20 hours per week or less) in a retail store for $7 per hour is technically employeed but that job does not provide anywhere near a living income. figure after taxes, around $400 per month. This will barely purchase food and clothing much less any rent or transportation cost. That will keep the unemployment numbers low at a glance, but that will not provide for much. I know, many will say "ok, get another part time job or even two". Yes, you can do this but keep in mind that EVERY employer, even if they will work with you knowing you have other employment, wants to be considered your primary employer as much as is feasible. There are ways to work it out (I personally had 2 jobs from 17 until about 30), but there are no benefits, no holidays, and mostly just stress of barely scraping by.

That's not to say that all jobs in SD are like that but keep that in mind when looking at these 3% numbers...

[Jammie]

You're right, BH. The only thing is that those same jobs are reflected in the stats for ALL the states.

I actually did a bit of preliminary employment hunting in Fla. and I'll pick the So. Dak. employers over them any day. I sort of felt like I was insignificant and would be treated shabbily. Also, they seemed to always have a waiting period (and a LONG one in some cases) for one to just qualify for group health insurance. It's not like that up here with MOST employers.

I don't mean to "DIS" Fla. I'll take your palm trees and warmth any day.

[blackhillsdreams]

Originally Posted by Jammie

You're right, BH. The only thing is that those same jobs are reflected in the stats for ALL the states.

I actually did a bit of preliminary employment hunting in Fla. and I'll pick the So. Dak. employers over them any day. I sort of felt like I was insignificant and would be treated shabbily. Also, they seemed to always have a waiting period (and a LONG one in some cases) for one to just qualify for group health insurance. It's not like that up here with MOST employers.

I don't mean to "DIS" Fla. I'll take your palm trees and warmth any day.

Jammie, no worries, I "DIS" Florida employers right along with you. I actually didn't mean to "DIS" South Dakota (Ya Know I LOVE IT), I really meant to point out that the entire unemployment percentage rating nationwide is deeply flawed. The figures should really be broken down into 3 or 4 categories based on unskilled/skilled and minimum wage and a couple other wage brackets working upward, and finally, part time vs. full time.

That is really the only way to see the real picture. If you wanted to take it a step further, those number could be ratioed against the average cost of living per region...

Me, I'll take the Black Hills over Palm Trees and warmth any day, including the dead of winter! :-)

[Chris19]

The things that South Dakota needs to do, despite its unemployment rates being low, is to improve our delivery of training and education from K-12 to post secondary to provide a skilled workforce (to attract prospective employers and companies and build an educated workforce from within), retain our younger people, and to address the underemployment issues. We have a good quality of life, but it can be even better with additional educational and economic opportunities. Governor Rounds has made a good push for that but we as a state and people need to expand upon that and allow our state to be strong, stable, and prosperous in the future. It will not be easy and it takes time, but we can do it.