Are You Feeling the Recession? (Sioux Falls, Rapid City: rentals, high school, to live in)

[leroyleroux]

Thanks for the heads up debey. I have a relation that works in a plant there, but that doesn't sound like the same name. You would think the defense industry would be recession proof right now.

[debey]

Rainbow Play Systems Inc. of Brookings cut another 60 jobs this week at its Brookings and Albert Lea, Minnesota, plants.
Rainbow had 1,100 workers in April when 74 jobs were cut. That was followed by 25 cuts in May and another 71 in August.

News, Weather and Sports for Sioux Falls, South Dakota, Minnesota and Iowa

[Jammie]

Just wanted to give an update while I have the paper in my hand.

I learned something new today. Cities do not use the "seasonal adjustment" in their unemployment stats.

Anyway, our state unemployment rate is 4.7%.

Yankton is again the highest at 7.1%.

Watertown 7%

Rapid City 5.3%

Sioux Falls 5.2%

Mitchell 4.7%

Spearfish 4.6%

Vermillion 3.7%

Brookings 3.6%

Aberdeen 3.5%

Huron 3.3%

AND Pierre at 2.6%

Funny how things change throughout the years. Sioux Falls always had a lower unemployment rate then Mitchell. Rapid City's unemployment rate was generally quite high. Spearfish~I'd have moved there 35 years ago if they would've had jobs, but there were very few jobs there for years. Huron and Pierre were never job hot spots either, but things have changed.

Things may be looking up just a bit. In March, Mitchell's unemployment rate was 6.7%.

[AJTucson]

Hey Jammie - thanks for posting this for all of us. Looks like absolute heaven to me. Then again, it is all relative isn't it? Does really make us look even more forward to our trips to two of your state's great cities.

[NickWins]

Unemployment rate is tricky to read.

Does that mean there are more jobs in the places with lower numbers, or are just less people getting let go/laid off?

Mitchell looks like an excellent little city to settle in, there are cheap rents and a drive in (a luxury few places can boast), but is there full time work there year round?

Everything that could work against me to get out of Florida has happened, so it doesn't look good on being somewhere else before the snow flies, but a place like Mitchell had really climbed up my board of possibles. What I was having a hard time finding were jobs that seemed able to live off of.

The problem here is there's hundreds of people looking at the same types of jobs that I have experience in. The cost of living looks a bit lower than Sioux Falls, if only slightly.

Do you think businesses in Mitchell post job positions on-line less? Would being there be an easier way to determine the job oppurtunities or is what I dig up on line fairly accurate as to what's available?

[Jammie]

Nick, right now the job market in Mitchell isn't booming. Our unemployment rate isn't bad, but it seems like everyone is hanging onto their job for dear life for the moment until we see what the future holds. The Mitchell Daily Republic would probably be the best place to job hunt, but the display ads don't show up online so that leaves several jobs out.

As far as a living wage~our entire state is quite a low wage state. Most of us just get a job and hang in there for years and eventually work up to a fairly decent wage. Most couples both work around here and many times one spouse has a part time job along with a full time job. We're workers up here. Seriously though, it'd be hard to make a living with just one wage earner in the family.

There's also a website called Keloland jobs and you can choose what city you would like to search in. Have you been to Mitchell in the past? It is a very nice town.

[Jammie]

There's an article out of Omaha that is talking about the recession coming to an end in 9 Midwestern/Plains states. Wouldn't that be a blessing since we never got hit too hard in the first place? Well, not like a lot of states did anyway.

And check out Sx. Falls. Kelo has a news story saying that there is confidence in their economy and Target has just put up a new store. They will hire 165 people. Qwest also has confidence in Sx. Falls and will be adding 60 more jobs.

[Chris19]

Originally Posted by Jammie

There's an article out of Omaha that is talking about the recession coming to an end in 9 Midwestern/Plains states. Wouldn't that be a blessing since we never got hit too hard in the first place? Well, not like a lot of states did anyway.

And check out Sx. Falls. Kelo has a news story saying that there is confidence in their economy and Target has just put up a new store. They will hire 165 people. Qwest also has confidence in Sx. Falls and will be adding 60 more jobs.

I have heard about the second part on KELO also. It is a good sign for Sioux Falls if Target and Qwest have confidence in Sioux Falls and willing to expend here.

I was in Mitchell earlier today and met up with a good friend and had an excellent meal at Whiskey Creek. The food and service is good and plan to come back again.

My guess is that Sioux Falls and Rapid City will rebound well when the national economy recovers, along with Mitchell, Aberdeen, and most other cities. I think that Yankton and Watertown would have the toughest time of the larger cities. Aberdeen is on a roll, Mitchell is in a good location and good proxmity from Sioux Falls, Vermillion is growing with USD doing well with enrollment and lot of building on campus (and near Sioux City and Sioux Falls).

What would help Yankton would be a 4-laning of US 81 between Norfolk and Yankton. 81 is 4-laned south of Norfolk, NE to Columbus, NE and then again south of I-80 clear down to Wichita, KS.

[dpf]

What would help Yankton would be if they let some news businesses into town. It's run by a good ol' boys club who watch out for their own interests and have little concern for the residents. I live half way between Yankton and Mitchell...actually Mitchell is a little further...when I need to shop I go to Mitchell or Sioux Falls because I have more choices. Only reason I go to Yankton is for a quick Wal-Mart stock up trip. Mitchell isn't that much larger than Yankton...neither is Norfolk NE for that matter and both of them have more shopping options.

[Chris19]

Originally Posted by dpf

What would help Yankton would be if they let some news businesses into town. It's run by a good ol' boys club who watch out for their own interests and have little concern for the residents. I live half way between Yankton and Mitchell...actually Mitchell is a little further...when I need to shop I go to Mitchell or Sioux Falls because I have more choices. Only reason I go to Yankton is for a quick Wal-Mart stock up trip. Mitchell isn't that much larger than Yankton...neither is Norfolk NE for that matter and both of them have more shopping options.

I agree. Mitchell and Yankton are comparable in size and Mitchell has more to offer. From what I have heard about the city leadership in Yankton, they have not had the best leadership in the past five to ten years (enough internal conflict) and the internal conflict has held the city back.

It is wierd to think this, but it seems like Vermillion has been doing better than Yankton in the past few years with new stuff. When I was going to college earlier in the decade, Yankton seemed like it was more progressive. I would like to see more cooperation between the two cities and them pulling together on bigger stuff that would greatly enhance the entire area from a workforce and retail standpoint instead of competing against each other.

I would love to see 81 four laned both north and south of Yankton for safety and opening up opportunities for that region. I am familiar with the road and do not find it the safest in the stretch between Norfolk and Yankton and is more heavily travelled than what some realize.