Butte County - Work & Economy

A healthy agricultural economy has contributed to substantial growth in Butte County's median income over the last decade, from $29,040 in 2000 to $38,015 in 2009. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the county's total labor force in October 2011 was 5,481, with 211 people or 3.8 percent listed as unemployed. Approximately one in four workers are employed in the trade, transportation and utilities sector. Another one in four work for various federal, state or local government agencies. Nearly three of ten employed residents commute to another county to work in another county. For an in-depth economic profile of Butte County, visit the South Dakota Governor's Office of Economic Development.

Business Activity & Taxable Sales

Taxable sales in Butte County exceeded $10.564 million in January, 2012, according to the South Dakota Department of Revenue.

Poverty Rate

According to the U.S. Census, 14.2 percent live below the poverty line, almost exactly the national average. While 88 percent of county residents have graduated from high school, only 18 percent who are older than 25 have a college degree.

Work

Employment & Unemployment

 The chart below shows the unemployment rate over the past decade for Butte county, along with a line showing the average during this time, as recorded by the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Most economists agree that there is a “natural” or stable unemployment rate for a region over time, given the structure and dynamics of a community. However, fluctuations in the business cycle cause the actual unemployment to vary from the stable equilibrium in the short term. Typically, output and unemployment are inversely related and thus fluctuations in GDP are associated with changes in unemployment levels and rates. The Black Hills region is no exception.The unemployment rate is defined as the number unemployed as a percent of the labor force. Persons 16 years and older who had no employment during the reference week, were available for work (except for temporary illness) and had made specific efforts to find employment, are classified as unemployed. For more information, see http://bls.gov/lau/.

Full-time v. Part-time Employment. Another way to explore the types of jobs in a particular area in the Black Hills region is to compare the number of jobs to the number of people employed. The higher the ratio of jobs to employed persons, the more common part-time employment is in this county. The chart below shows the movement in both these numbers, as well as a visual comparison of the difference between “employment” and “all employees.” These data come from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

“Employment” is an establishment-level indicator of a paid position covered by state and federal unemployment insurance programs (and collected by the Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages). “All Employees” is a household-level indicator of the number of actively employed persons during a period of time, estimated from the Bureau of Labor Statistics from American Community Survey Data. For more information, see http://www.bls.gov/lau/laumthd.htm and http://www.bls.gov/news.release/cewqtr.tn.htm.

Income & Wages

Personal incomes

Personal incomes in Butte County declined 1.2 percent from 2008 to 2009, but this drop was not as great as for the state or the nation as a whole. At $30,063, Butte County's per capita personal income ranked 56th among the state's 66 counties and was 78 percent of the state average of $38,374. Over a ten-year period, however, incomes in Butte County have grown at a rate of 4.5 percent per year (equal to average annual growth rate for the state) and have exceeded the national growth rate of 3.4 percent.

Below is a chart showing the average weekly wages in Butte county over the past decade, as recorded by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. These data are recorded quarterly. For a snapshot of the changes in wages (preliminary estimates) over the most recent period, please refer to the Bureau of Labor Statistics here.

Average Annual Pay

Below is a chart showing an alternate measure of income, the average annual pay in Butte county over the same time period. For more information, please visit the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Quarterly Census of Employment and Wage program.

Wages include bonuses, stock options, profit distributions, the cash value of meals and lodging, tips and other gratuities, and, in some states, employer contributions to certain deferred compensation plans such as 401(k) plans.

Components of Personal Income in Butte County Compared to State and Nation

See chart at: http://www.bea.gov/regional/bearfacts/action.cfm

Economy

Agriculture & Resources

Butte County produced more sheep and lambs than any other county in South Dakota in 2007.  More than 84 percent of the county's 1.14 million acres of agricultural land were devoted to pasture to feed nearly 106,000 sheep and cattle, as well as 2,399 horses and ponies. 

The average farm or ranch was 1,953 acres and its produce netted $94,936 on the market. Farmers and ranchers also received, on average, $9,352 in government payments related to agricultural production.

Despite the importance of agriculture to the county's economy, the amount of land used for agriculture declined by ten percent between 2002 and 2007 while the number of farms and ranches dropped by nine percent.

For more information on Butte County's agriculture, see the profile created by the U.S. Department of Agriculture from the 2007 Agricultural Census.